Saving the Son of Death (REWRITTEN)
by GabiiBearr
Summary: Tyler Wright didn't sign up to be a demigod, or to save his new sister, or to fall for a girl he'd just met, or to save the Lost Generation of heroes who disappeared thirty years ago, but he wasn't going to say no. How could he? Rewritten version of my previous story under the same title. (The cover represents Tony Staton). FINDING THE CHILDREN OF POSEIDON (Book 2) IS UP NOW
1. I

The Giant

I woke up like every other day, to the sound of my alarm clock as it assaulted my ears. I groaned and rolled over, picking up the contraption and throwing it at the wall. I sighed in bliss as I realized I wouldn't need it for another two months until school started back. Today was the beginning of my two-month long freedom and I couldn't wait any longer. I rolled out of bed and walked into my bathroom where I showered and got ready for the day. As I stepped out and put a towel around my waist, I used my wrist to remove the fog from the mirror as I grinned while I thought about my summer plans with the Wyatt twins. I grinned at the reflection of the boy with the wet black hair and the excited ocean blue eyes. Nothing was going to ruin my day.

I ran into my room and got dressed in a pair of black basketball shorts and a red tee shirt. I slipped on my red converse and quickly towel dried my slightly long hair before running out of my room and down the stairs to the kitchen.

I grinned at the two twins eating the breakfast that my mom had made for them. This had been our routine for all the years that I've known them. I had known the Wyatt twins for most of my life, almost everything that I remembered was them. They were my best friends, my brothers. They lived two houses down from me and were always over, if I wasn't at their house. My mom loves them. It's like instead of one son, she had three.

I sat down in my own chair and offered a smile to them while I ate a piece of bacon.

"So, are you excited about summer?" Jase asked.

I nodded my head, "Well duh, it's summer. Who isn't excited?"

He grinned, an amused look in his serpent green eyes, "Jake."

Jacob groaned as a small amount of anger rose in his eyes while he glared at his brother, "Shut up! You were tee-peeing the school and I was egging it but when you got caught you said you were me! I'm grounded for the entire first week of summer!"

I vaguely recall their latest prank on the school just a few days ago. I sighed as I waited for Jase's response, knowing he'd have one. He loved picking on Jake because Jake wasn't as outspoken as he was.

"That's your fault for looking just like me." he grins.

I sigh and raise my hands up, silencing them. Unlike the twins, I was an only child so I didn't know what it felt like to argue with a sibling. I mean, they were like brothers to me but it just wasn't the same as someone sharing the same blood as you. It really made me realize just how alone I was when they bantered on with things like this.

"We're going to be late for school," I say as I check out the clock and read the time, 7:45am.

"Yeah, you're right," Jase says as he and Jake stand to grab their bags.

I don't bother to take my backpack to the car with me since it's the last day of school. I get into the passenger seat while the twins get into the back and we wait for my mom. After a minute or so, she exits the house and locks the door before getting into the driver's seat and cranking the car. As I watch her I'm reminded that we look nothing alike from her blonde hair and brown eyes to my black hair and blue ones. She was also pretty short. I'm 5'5 and she's a good few inches below me.

I had never met my dad, and my mom hardly ever talks about him unless it's to tell me that we look just alike. She even tells me that my laugh reminds her of him. Most of the time she talks about him it makes her cry and all that's ever done is make me hate him. She says she loves him, though, but I know that it all still hurts her. Jase and Jake don't see it, but I know that she is not truly happy and I don't think that she ever will be. Whatever he had done to her had affected her so deeply that there was no going back and it upset me knowing that I'd never know what he'd done.

I had been so lost in my own thoughts that I hadn't noticed that we had arrived at school. Jase, Jake and I step out, say goodbye to my mom, then walk inside the building. We walk past other students who are hurrying to make it to class before the tardy bell sounds. The twins and I walk just a little while longer before making it to our homeroom and taking our seats in the back. When we finally sit down and I take in my surroundings, I realize that we have a sub today. I can't help but feel intimidated by him as he stares my friends and I up and down. He was huge with a shaved head and cold brown eyes.

I pulled my attention away from him and decided to talk to Jase and Jake since the other students were talking.

"I can't wait to go swimming today." Jase grins.

"Yeah, because you get to go swimming. Liar." Jake grumbles.

"Oh, don't be a baby. You're thirteen, not three anymore. We'll be freshmen next year." Jase smiles.

"I'm not being a baby. Don't be a liar." Jake says, hitting his arm.

"No fighting you two." I sigh.

"That's why you won't be swimming with us today," Jase says, sticking out his tongue.

Just as Jake is about to pounce, the substitute calls our names. We hadn't been loud and I'm sure that he hadn't known what Jake's true intentions were so the twins and I shared a confused look.

"Tyler, Jason, Jacob," he repeats, his voice monotone, "step outside."

I'm not sure if my eyes are playing tricks on me or not but I could have sworn that I saw him shimmer. I ignore it, realizing the twins hadn't seen it, and we walk out into the hallway as the substitute steps out behind us and shuts the door. He stares down at a moment.

"Mr.-" Jase begins but he's cut off.

"Save your breath, demigod," he says as he shimmers again. The twins see it this time and we're all too shocked to move, "a mere detention would have been a reward for the fate you are about to suffer."

As he speaks he grows taller and bigger. His face gets more hideous and the twins grab my arms and begin to back away. My feet move with them but I can't even feel myself controlling them. The only thing I find myself doing is praying that we don't die today. I stare into his cold, lifeless eyes and I find my voice.

"Wh-what are you?" I ask him as we back into a wall.

"He's a giant, of course." a voice says behind me.

I turn around to find a tall, blond boy standing up straight with a sword in his hand. He looks to be a year or two older than me and his dark blue eyes have a determination in them as he stares down the giant in front of us.

"Who are you?" I ask him as I stare down his sword.

"I'm Brandon Jones. Just like the three of you, I'm a demigod. We all have special powers and you might even be lucky enough to see mine today." he grins wickedly.

"But-"

"Just shut up, kid, and let me help you."

I don't argue with him as I realize that he's right, there's a giant threat in front of us (no pun intended) and we don't have the time to make small talk. Brandon runs in front of us and raises his sword to slice away at him, but the giant avoids the attack. As he dodges, he brings his hand around quickly and swipes Brandon into a wall. Surprisingly, he gets up unscathed and runs forward to attack the giant again. The giant dodges and grabs Brandon in his fist, squeezing him. His angry eyes meet mine.

"What are you three idiots doing just standing there?" he yells, "Run!"

We don't waste any time arguing with him as I turn around and start pushing the twins with me yelling, "Go, go, go, go!"

We run down the corridor of the school, hearing the giant stomping behind us. The twins have always been faster than me, so when I see them by me I know that they're holding back so that they don't leave me behind. Everything in me tells me to scream at them to run faster but my throat is burning so much that I can't speak. I just rush myself, slowly surpassing them as we turn down another hall and run. They catch back up to me easily and once we notice the giant has, too, they both grab one of my arms and run faster, helping me run with them.

As soon as we're outside on the playground, I turn around and see the giant coming out right behind us. The twins don't stop running but I do and soon we're stumbling over each other. I stare at the giant as he comes for us but Brandon flies, literally flies, right out behind him and in a matter of seconds, lightning strikes the giant down. I look up at the clear sky, wondering where the lighting had come from but my eyes land on Brandon's instead.

"That was you?" I ask him, "That's your demigod gift?"

"Yep," he says.

"That was so cool!" the twins yell in unison.

"Shut up and come on." Brandon sighs.

"Where are we going?" I ask him.

He digs inside of his pocket and pulls out a gold coin.

"You'll see."

"I'm not going anywhere," Jase says.

"Look," he sighs and I can see why he looks so much older as the bags are visible below his tired eyes, "I could stand here and force you to come with me or you can come with me the easy way. If you think the three of you are the only people that I have to save, you couldn't be more wrong. I just found out that I have a sister who just turned thirteen a few months ago. She could be getting attacked by things much worse than that giant and I have to get to her the same way I got to you. Do you understand?"

I keep staring at his tired eyes and I realize that he's being truthful. He needs to save his sister and I know that I would be doing the exact same thing if I were in his place. It had to be driving him mad, knowing that he could get to her but that three other kids were standing in his way. If something happened to her because he got there too late, it was on us, on me. I couldn't have that on my hands so I nod at the twins who sigh but follow him.

Brandon nods, content that he doesn't have to drag us out kicking and screaming, and walks over to the street where he tosses the gold coin into the road. He mumbles, "Stêthi 'Ô hárma diabolês."

"Why would you throw a gold coin into the road, are you freakin' crazy?" Jase all but yells in his face.

Brandon sighs and grabs him out of the road just as a speeding taxi stops where he had just been standing. Jase lets out a yelp, realizing he would have been roadkill if not for Brandon and stands beside him silently, too shocked and embarrassed to say anything. As I stared at the taxi, I realized it was made of dark smoke. I looked at Brandon who nodded and I climbed in. After a moment we're all inside and there are three women, one of which who is holding an actual eyeball in her hand. She turned the eyeball toward us and laughs. I realize I'd been holding my breath and that I wasn't slipping through the taxi like I thought I would have. I take a deep breath and look at Brandon who nods.

"What is this? Who are they? Are you going to tell us where we're going?" I ask him.

"This is the Gray sister's taxi. They are the Gray sisters. We're going to Camp Half-blood so that I can get transportation to save my sister." he says, nonchalantly.

"Alright, well, where are the seat belts?" Jake asks, holding a pair of back chains.

Brandon chuckles, "Well, kid, you're holding them."

I open my mouth to speak but nothing comes out as we're suddenly lurched forward, going lightning speed down the road in a taxi made of smoke piloted by three women, one of which holding the only eyeball that they have.


	2. II

Camp Half-Blood

My legs shake as I walk forward and I take in a deep breath of air to calm my nausea. The taxi had stopped at the bottom of a hill and we'd all gotten out only a second before the Gray sisters sped off again. I had made up my mind, deciding that I had never wanted to ride with the Gray sisters again as long as I lived. After taking a few steps, Jake leaned over and vomited. Brandon stood in front of the three of us and sighed.

"We're pretty low on campers for now so you three might actually be the ones to come with me." he says lowly. I almost hadn't heard him.

"What's so bad about that?" Jake asks, his face pale and his eyes slightly watery.

"Considering you have one of the weakest stomachs in a demigod that I've ever seen? A lot. A lot is 'so bad about that'."

Without saying anything else, or waiting for Jake's response, he turned around and began walking up the hill. The twins and I share a quick look before we fall in line behind him. After a few moments, we cross over the hill and see what seems to be a summer camp. In the left center, there was a big blue house with a small patio and steps. In front of us, down the hill, was a strawberry patch and in the right center that was a huge building made of wood. In the middle there was a large fire pit and in the back, in the center, there were tons of cabins. There were about twenty of them, all aligned in an omega shape.

In various places, there were other cabin buildings, a lake, a cliff, the woods, and there were things that you could use for sports and other activities. Brandon continues to walk down the hill and the twins and I follow him. When we're about halfway there, I see a girl by the strawberries, finishing one and smiling at Brandon. Her bright red hair, very noticeable from where we are, flows in the wind as Brandon rushes to her.

"Brandon!" she calls out happily as she waves at all of us.

As I look to Brandon, I see that he's smiling at her.

"Ellie!" he calls out, laughing, while he starts to run now.

We quicken our pace to a run to keep up with him. He stops in front of the girl, who is about half a foot shorter than him, and he embraces her into his arms. After a moment, he pulls back and places a kiss on her forehead. Her crystal blue eyes raise to meet his dark blue colored ones and she smiles brightly as he pulls her back into the embrace. They hold each other and for a moment, none of us speak.

I felt so invasive watching this obviously tender moment between the two of them.

"I've missed you, so much, Brandon." she whispers into his shoulder.

"I've missed you, too, Ellie. Gods I've missed you," he mumbles into her hair.

Then everything is quiet again. The wind rustles leaves and the few campers who are outside move around. Brandon, as if just remembering that the twins and I are here, turns to us. He pulls away, only slightly, and nods toward us, causing Ellie's attention to shift to us.

"Ellie, these are the three kids that I rescued today. Sorry, but I don't think I even asked them their names," he says, sheepishly.

"I'm Tyler Wright. These are my best friends, Jason and Jacob Wyatt." I say.

"I'm Ellie Cooper. I'm Hephaestus' daughter and Brandon's girlfriend of a year as of last month. It's so nice to meet you all." she says, smiling at us.

Ellie was fairly skinny. Not the kind that you could see the outline of her bones, but she was certainly skinny. Looking between her and the slender build of Brandon, I was amazed he wasn't afraid of breaking her. Her nose was average sized, her eyes weren't too big and she smiled with her top row of perfectly straight teeth. She was pretty and I could understand Brandon's attraction to her. As I kept staring, I noticed she was fairly pale and that she wore a pair of jeans and a red shirt that read 'Camp Half-blood'.

"Hephaestus?" I asked, confused.

"I still haven't gotten to that, Ellie. We have a lot to explain," he says, "But allow me to properly introduce myself. I'm Brandon Jones, I'm the only child of Zeus," he pauses and furrows his eyebrows, "well, not anymore. But I'm fifteen and I think I'll be watching the three of you."

"What do you mean, 'child of Zeus'?" I ask.

"We sort of understand this. We've had dreams about it." Jake mumbles next to me.

"Dreams?" I ask.

"Yeah." they say, looking away.

"I actually have three other siblings. Jason and Thalia Grace along with my younger sister, but I don't know her name yet. Jason and Thalia are still young, as are a lot of their friends but that's because they're missing. Honestly, they're all supposed to be dead by now. They were taken away, one by one when they turned eighteen, we don't know who kidnapped them and we only know about all of this because of Tony. He hasn't been around camp a lot lately, though. He's a son of Hades and his brother, Nico, is one of the kids who was kidnapped all those years ago. Tony has all of Hades' physical traits, from the jet black hair and deep brown eyes to his pale skin, and he certainly acts like him, don't get me wrong- but he loves his sibling. Nico is the only one Tony has and he wants to rescue him. He's been keeping a track on Nico's soul and last we heard, Nico even visited him in a dream. Tony left camp on a trip to the Underworld and he was supposed to be back by tomorrow, but no one's heard from him in three days. We don't know where he is." Brandon says, his eyebrows knitting together.

"Well, what about the other gods? Considering they even exist." I ask, being drawn into the story.

"Oh, trust me," Ellie says, "they exist. All of the other gods have multiple children. A lot of them, actually. Well, that's aside from Poseidon. He doesn't have any that we know of."

"Oh," I say, "that's sad."

"No, it's not. Before his first son in a while, Percy Jackson, was known of, he, Zeus and Hades had long since made a pact that none of them would have demigods. The reason was that they were so powerful they could destroy the world if the right rage came. They broke the pact after finding out about Percy, Thalia, Nico, and Jason. They had more children but then a war came. It was a war against a minor goddess, Melanie. She's a demigod turned goddess of hatred and death. She attacked them with only three other monsters and wiped out pretty much an entire generation of demigods except for a few and later kidnapped Percy Jackson and his friends. The only ones we know of that were spared are Percy, Thalia, Nico and Jason but there are others that were trapped with them that we haven't identified yet. Nico was supposed to have given Tony names, but Tony went missing. All we know about the war is that the gods and Chiron were left out of it because Melanie only wanted to destroy demigods.

After that, another pact was made. All of the gods had to vow to each other never have demigod child children again. Then, Aphrodite broke the rule. Next came Apollo, then Hermes, then Ares- so on until it was only the Big Three left once again. The first time one broke the pact was just a little over fifteen years ago when Zeus met my mother. Next came Hades with Tony's mom and then Poseidon. It's rumored that his child, a boy, died when he was seven. So no one really knows if he has any children or not, and we might not find out." Brandon says.

I nod my head. All of this was so much to take in at once.

"Let's get them to Chiron," Ellie says quickly.

She and Brandon lead us away from the strawberry patch and over to the big blue house, which is ironically named the 'Big House', and we follow them inside. Once we are inside, we're met by two men. One had long, dark hair and is confined to a wheelchair with a blanket over his legs and the other is short and round in khakis and a hideous tropical shirt.

"Hello, young demigods. I'm Chiron and this is the camp activities instructor, Mr. D." Chiron says.

"Only twenty more years." Mr. D sighs, sipping a diet coke.

"He was sentenced to work here when he got caught chasing an off-limits wood nymph. He would still have a super long way to go before freedom, but he found out a lot of useful information on Melanie after the demigod war." Brandon leans in to whisper.

After speaking to Chiron, I'd come to realize that he hadn't told us anything new aside from the fact that we'd probably be claimed by our godly parent tonight. He had also told us we'd have to wait until tomorrow to leave to find Brandon's sister. I knew that bothered Brandon a little and maybe he blamed us, it probably was because of us, but he didn't say anything to let us know of his resentment. Chiron has also mentioned the Ellie would be going with us, so I know that calmed Brandon down enough and once everything was explained, Chiron told Brandon and Ellie to show us around the camp. They showed us the dining pavilion, the lake, the lava wall, the arena and many other activity areas. Before showing us the cabins, they take us to Zeus' fist but Brandon doesn't want to stay there long, I could tell. He'd gotten paler the longer we'd stayed, so we left for the cabins quickly.

Now, don't get me wrong, I knew that this was a magical camp. I'd come to accept that maybe they weren't all crazy or on drugs and that I wasn't going to be auctioned off to the highest bidder, but I did not expect for the cabins to be so magical or so different from one another. I finally began to accept that bit as Brandon and Ellie started showing us around them.

Zeus' cabin, which was cabin one, was marbled and reminded me of a mausoleum with columns. It had big, bronze double doors and if you stared long enough, you'd see small sparks of lightning shooting out from them. If you listened closely, or just paid attention at all, you could hear the thunder booming from inside of the cabin. Brandon had opened the door and motioned for us to follow him inside, so we did. The ceiling was dome-shaped and decorated with mosaics of cloudy sky and lightning bolts. In the center, there was a statue of Zeus with alcoves and golden eagle statues on either side of him. On one side, to the left, there was a bunk bed.

"It looks so lonely in here," I tell him, sympathetically.

"It won't be for long." is all he says before we leave to go to the next cabin.

Hera's cabin, cabin two, was the next one on the list. It was marbled, but formal looking, with slim columns that had garlands of pomegranates and flowers. It resembled Zeus' cabin in a way but I didn't have time to marble in that before Brandon invited us in it. The inside of the entire cabin was empty aside from the statue of what I assumed to be Hera. This cabin was obviously nothing but a temple to her.

We soon leave and make our way to the next cabin.

Cabin three, Poseidon's cabin, instantly stood out to me as my favorite. It was a long, low building with windows facing out onto the lake. It was made of rough sea stone with pieces of coral at the end of the cabin and a seashell and a trident over the door. Brandon tells us we could go in if we like, but something tells me that we should just move on, and the twins apparently agree.

We continue the rest of the tour in silence.

Cabin four, Demeter's cabin was covered in flowers with tomato plants growing on the walls and doorway. It was a light brown color and it had flowers and roses growing on the porch and it had a glass roof. Next was Are's cabin, cabin five. There wasn't much to cabin five aside from it's peeling red paint, the barbwire on the roof and the boar's head on the door. I was glad that we weren't invited to look inside of it.

Athena's cabin, cabin six, was a gray building with plain white curtains and the design of an owl over the door. He said we could go into it, so we did. There was a statue of Athena in the center and all of the bunk beds were pushed over to one side of the room. On the other side of the room, there were maps, blueprints, and things scattered out on the desks.

Apollo's cabin, cabin seven, is made of gold and generates late, making it shine brightly. Artemis' cabin, cabin eight, is silver with silver curtains and has carvings of animals all over it. Ellie leads us away from it and to Hephaestus' cabin, cabin nine.

She leads us inside the cabin that reminded me of a small factory with its brick walls, smokestacks, and gears around the entrance. On the inside, there is a statue of Hephaestus and each of their beds have digital control panels with LED blinking lights, glowing gyms and interlocking gears. The cabin has shiny metal walls and metal slated doors. A fire pole comes down from the second floor and a circular staircase leads down into some sort of basement. The walls are lined with every kind of power tool imaginable and an assortment of weapons. A work bench overflows with scrap metal, screws, bolts, washers, nails, rivets, and a million other machine parts.

"Oh wow, this is what you do all day?" Jase asks, amazed by all of the schematics.

"Yeah, it's kind of our thing." Ellie says, sheepishly as she glanced around.

We walk around the room, taking in everything. I look at the stair case leading down somewhere and Ellie notices my wandering eyes.

"The stairs lead to a tunnel," she says.

Next, we go to Aphrodite's cabin, cabin ten, and I'm immediately taken back by how much it stands out. It's a wooden cabin with a blue painted roof, pillars, checkerboard deck with steps and the inside had gray walls and the smell of designer perfume was everywhere. I didn't take in too much of what the inside looked like because I got out of there quickly.

Cabin eleven was Hermes' cabin and it had brown peeling paint and a caduceus over the door. Cabin twelve, Mr. D's, had grape vines grown all around it except for on the cabin door. Last was Hades' cabin, cabin thirteen.

It was a windowless cabin made of obsidian with heavy columns and torches that burned green Greek fire and there was a skull over the door. Brandon motioned for us to step inside and I regretted it immediately. It felt so lonely here. There was a statue of Hades in the center and two bunk beds on either side.

Brandon placed his hand on one of the beds and I got a feeling that it was Tony's. His hand moved around on the bed and he pat it, letting out a huge sigh and a bubble of sympathy popped inside of me as I took in the most lonely detail.

None of the cabin beds seemed to have been touched in months.


	3. III

Claimed

After a minute, we'd left cabin thirteen and Brandon and Ellie led us to the dining pavilion.

"You three will eat at the Hermes table because that's the cabin you'll be with until you get claimed." he tells us.

Just as he and Ellie are about to leave us to go to their own tables, a blonde haired girl walks over to us, placing her blue eyes on us for just a moment. Ellie pulls her into a hug, and she hugs back for a moment before pulling away from her. The girl fixes her white skirt that flows to her knees and adjusts the top that is hidden under her white half jacket. She digs her white flats into the ground and sighs while looking away.

"Guys, this is Katelynn Michaels. She's the daughter of Aphrodite and she's my very best friend. Kate, this is-" she pauses when her best friend crosses her arms and stares at the ground with a scowl on her face, "Kate, what's wrong?"

"Did you take them inside of my cabin?" she asks, very softly.

"Yeah," Ellie begins, furrowing her brows, "why?"

"I'm missing the necklace my mother gave me. The one that helps with-"

"None of them have been claimed by-" Brandon is cut off as Jase coughs awkwardly.

"That was your necklace? I'm so sorry, I didn't know," he says, a blush tinting his cheeks.

He holds out his hand to her and slowly drops a silver chained necklace that had a silver heart locket. Her hand stays there, patiently, until the necklace is entirely in her hand. Once it is, she slowly closes her hand, holding the piece of jewelry in her tiny fist.

"I guess we know who's claiming you two." Brandon sighs, rolling his eyes at him.

Katelynn smiles gratefully at him before slowly stepping forward and giving him a soft and quick hug. She pulls away and says, "Thank you so much. I thought that it was gone forever."

"You mean you aren't mad at him?" Jake asks, slightly taken back.

"Why aren't you mad at me?" Jase asks, his eyebrows knitting together.

"You gave it back to me. Sure you took it in the first place, but there was enough kindness in your heart to actually give it back to me, so thank you," she said, softly.

We all stood there for a moment before she turned around and went to join her table.

"Uh," Jase began quietly before yelling out, "you're welcome?"

She looks back at him and smiles, then she's gone.

Just a little while later, the twins and I were sat at the Hermes table. Some sort of creatures- human but not entirely so- were walking around, serving one after another.

"They're wood nymphs." a girl says, sliding down beside us.

She's the only other person at the table, and she had curled blonde hair and serpent colored green eyes.

"My name's Lacey. I'm sort of the head counselor for the cabin. I have siblings but they're not here just yet. They'll start arriving soon, though." she says, happily.

"How old are you?" the twins ask simultaneously.

I know they're about to argue over the minor incident, but Lacey speaks up before they can.

She stands up, "I'm only twelve."

"I thought that you had to be thirteen to come here?" I asked as the twins and I followed her movement.

"Well I guess it's a long story, but I've learned to shorten it for the most part. I was pretty much abandoned by my family, thrown out like yesterday's trash. Brandon and Ellie had been on their way here, to camp. I was ten at the time, and they were both thirteen. Brandon had turned fourteen the next day when we made it here. I had already been here in the Hermes cabin since it's where all the newcomers first go until they're claimed, but he's my dad. For once I started out somewhere I belong. I can't do any quests, though, since I'm so young, but I'm the counselor because of my older brother, John, wanting me to try out responsibilities. They suck." she laughs.

I just started to pay attention to what we were doing, and I noticed Lacey was leading us to a hearth. She begins putting in some food and looks at us, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, guys, put some food in," I say, catching on.

The twins put in a portion of their food and a caduceus appears of their heads. It takes me a moment before I notice that people are bowing, including Lacey, so I follow suit. Once everyone begins to stand, so do I, and I add in a portion of my food.

"Whoever I belong to, please just claim me. I'm no good to Brandon or his sister if I don't even know my lineage or my potential. Please." I whisper.

Once I open my eyes, which I hadn't even known I closed, I look up and find that almost everyone is bowing down to me. The remainder stood with their mouths open, their eyes wide. I followed their eyes and looked up, barely catching the trident above my head.

"Congratulations to Jason and Jacob Wyatt, sons of Hermes, god of travelers, thieves, and messengers. Congratulations Tyler Wright, son of Poseidon, god of the sea. The three newcomers will be assisting Brandon on his quest to find his sister and bring her here. They leave tomorrow."

Lacey walks over to Jason and Jacob.

"Wow, so I guess I was right about my siblings showing up soon. This is so great! Oh, and congratulations Tyler. I can't believe you're a child of one of the Big Three. It's an amazing honor." she says.

I smile at her and pat her head.

"Braydon, take your friends to the armory." Mr. D says.

"It's Brandon."

Brandon rolls his eyes before walking over to us and pulling us away from a reluctant Lacey. He leads us out of the dining pavilion and to a wooden building a few feet away. Brandon opens the door and we walk in behind him. Brandon pulls the light cord and the building lights up. To say that I'm amazed at all of the weapons in the armory would be an understatement. The twins don't hesitate to run toward the weapons, trying out bows and swords then throwing them back when they don't feel right. I only watch them as they decide between the swords until Jase holds one up that has a red hilt golden stripes the go down to the end. The blade is made of a bronze metal that seems to glow and engraved in the hilt is the word ελευθερία. I somehow recognize the word to mean freedom.

"Normally you forge your own weapons, but sometimes the gods send gifts in advance if they know you're coming. If something sticks out to you, it's probably a gift from your parent or another god or goddess. That's Eleftheria. It's a very nice choice. It's made out of celestial bronze, which harms anyone and anything but mortals." Brandon says.

"What about this one?" Jacob asks, holding an almost identical sword to Jason's.

The hilt is blue and silver and the engraving reads κηδεμόνας.

"That's Kidemonas, the counterpart of Eleftheria. Where Eleftheria means freedom, Kidemonas means guardian. They're always chosen in pairs, and I think it's because you can't have one without the other." Brandon mumbles, almost to himself completely.

I decide to look around and pick my own weapon. There are tons among the armory but a sword with a black hilt a blue line going around it catches my eye. As I inspect it closer, I notice it has a black blade that glows. I pick the sword up and I earn an audible gasp from Brandon.

"That's a sword with a blade made from Stygian iron. Only children of Hades and beings of the underworld are supposed to be able to wield it," he says. "It's Dynami."

I read the engraving on the hilt, δύναμη.

It means strength, I notice.

"Well," I say, "I'm wielding it, aren't I?"

"Are you sure that you're Poseidon's son?" he asks.

"Yeah, he claimed me," I answer, dumbfounded.

"Tyler, are those rumors true?"

"What rumors?"

"Did you die, Tyler?"


	4. IV

Setting Off

"I died when I was seven," I say, quietly. I hadn't really spoken much of the occasion since it had happened, it was still a sore spot, "I had an asthma attack and my heart stopped beating for fifteen minutes. I mean, the doctors brought me back, but I suffered short term memory loss up until I was ten. I had never had another asthma attack after it, though. Come to think of it, I don't think I ever had one before it happened."

"Well, at least I know why you can wield the sword. You've been touched by death. Enough about all of this, though, let's go to the Hephaestus cabin and see if they can help us make these things a little more concealable and travel-friendly." Brandon says.

We walk in silence to cabin nine and Brandon knocks on the door. A moment later, Ellie opens it and they hug each other. In the dining pavilion, I'd seen that all of the children of Hephaestus were physically unattractive; Ellie was the only exception. Brandon and Ellie pull away from each other and Ellie invites us all inside.

"What can I do for you guys?" she asks.

"Well, they picked out weapons and I was wondering if my ever-so-amazing girlfriend would alter them, making them into something easier to carry around."

"I'll see what I can do, any suggestions?" she asks us.

"I think a red rope necklace would be cool," Jase says.

"Oh, I want a blue one, please," Jake asks.

"And you, Tyler?" Ellie asks.

"Just a black and blue shell necklace if it's not too much trouble," I say.

"Of course not. I'll have them ready for in the morning."

"Thanks again, Ell. Good night." Brandon says, kissing her cheek.

"Good night." she says back to us.

Once we leave the cabin, we head our separate ways and I go to my cabin. I walk inside, the air smelling of ocean water, and go to a perfectly made bed. I can't help but notice how empty and lonely it is, and I know that this is what Brandon has felt for the past two years. I couldn't live like that. My eyes slowly close, the heaviness of them becoming too much for me.

"Hello, please, please someone help me." a strawberry blonde haired girl cries out.

"What's wrong, it's okay." I try my best to assure her.

"I need your help. There are these things, these creatures, and they're attacking me. I'm too scared to even leave my house anymore. I got away from the last one by doing this weird thing with electricity. I don't even know how I did it." she whispers.

"It's okay, you're just a demigod. I'm one, too. My name's Tyler, what's yours?" I ask.

"I'm Maliah."

I wake up with a sharp jolt. I get up and shower, the dream sinking into the back of my mind for now. Once I finish cleaning myself up, I get dressed and go outside, finding Brandon, Ellie and the twins waiting for me. We're all packed and Brandon is visibly eager to leave.

"I found out my sister's name," Brandon says.

"What is it?" I ask.

"It's Maliah."

For a second, I can't pin the name until I remember my dream. It couldn't be her, it had to be a coincidence.

"You said her name is Maliah?" I ask.

"Yeah, her name is Maliah Blake. I can't believe it, it seems so real now."

The whole time he was talking about her, his smile never left his face. It was as though he'd just hit the lotto for a million dollars. I could understand his happiness, though. He was ready to see his sister, and I was honestly ready for him. I don't know how he was doing it. I don't know how he could patiently wait to meet, pretty much, the only sister he has.

"Well, what are we waiting here for?" I ask.

"Oh, before we leave, I have these for you guys," Ellie says, handing us the jewelry that concealed our weapons.

"Thanks, Ellie." the twins say in unison, sorting through theirs and handing me mine.

We take a moment, getting ourselves adjusted and putting on the necklaces. After only a second, it feels as though I've worn the shell necklace my whole life like it was made for me. In a way, it actually was. I nod at Ellie in appreciation.

"So where are we going?" I ask, looking at Brandon.

"L.A." he answers.

"Oh, wow. It's going to be a long trip." Jason says.

"Yeah, but maybe it'll go by fast because of our anticipation," Ellie adds, hopefully.

"I hope so. I can't wait to meet her." Brandon says.

"What all do you know about her?" I ask.

"Just that her mom's a singer and her stepdad's some kind of A-list actor. I don't really know much else, but we'll get to ask her when we meet her," he says.

Ellie grabs his hand and he brings her hand to his lips, kissing it. She smiles up at him in adoration, then everything is back to normal again.

"So, how are we getting there?" Jake asks.

Brandon grins.

We had walked to a barn. Only four of the stables were occupied, but they weren't horses, not entirely. They were Pegasus. They were horses with wings, and they were right there in front of me. Brandon had informed us that he and Ellie would share a Pegasus and that the twins and I would each have our own. He had also told us that most demigods were given Pegasus as a gift from their godly parent, and being the son of Poseidon my dad had already placed mine here. Sadly, he was right.

"Why won't it let me on?" I complain, looking to Brandon for advice.

Everyone else was already all saddled up and ready to go, but my stubborn horse fly wouldn't budge. We had been here for ten minutes, waiting for the Pegasus to come around and let me on.

"Brandon, maybe if you talk to it, it'll let you on," Ellie suggests.

The Pegasus has a light brown body with a raven black mane and bright blue eyes that were narrowed at me in a glare. I groaned.

"Please, horsey. Please let me ride you." I beg.

"Horsey? I am a Pegasus you insulate moron." the Pegasus' voice sounds in my mind.

I stare at him dumbfounded before Brandon speaks up.

"Please, just let him on. We have to find my sister. I have a picture of her. If you want to see it. She's in danger and we need to rescue her." he says, pulling out a wallet-sized photo and showing it to the Pegasus.

It's the girl from my dreams. I recognize her immediately, and something sparks inside the Pegasus.

"Fine. But only to save the girl." the Pegasus says.

I nod and mount the Pegasus, barely getting balanced before he shoots off into the sky, the other's soon after. After a small wave of nausea hits me, I remember just how terrified of heights I am.

"Hey, Ty, you okay?" Jake asks, veering next to me.

"Do we have to fly?" I mumble, trying to hold my breath to keep from falling over.

Somehow, I know the horse is laughing at me.

"Well, we could have taken a taxi," Brandon says.

"No! After the last experience we had, if I ever see another taxi again it'll be too soon."

The others laugh at me for a moment before finally dying down.

"Well," Brandon says, "let's get going."

* * *

So far it's still sticking to the older version super close. I just had to rewrite it because there were a lot of plot holes, things that didn't really make sense and a lot of things between the two love interests were rushed. So yeah the original is up for comparison or if you just found this story and want to know how I ended it like 5(ish) years ago.

Enjoy!

XoXo Gabby


	5. V

What is Luck?

We had been flying for so long that the sun was almost lost to us by now. After a silent agreement, we'd decided to fly down into some woods to camp for the night. Once we landed, we all began to set up tents and Ellie and Brandon built a fire.

"What's the plan for tomorrow?" I ask.

"We'll be in Pennsylvania soon, so we'll stop somewhere there for breakfast and keep going until we get tired or hungry again. No detours until we find Maliah." Brandon says.

"Okay. Sounds good."

"What time should we get up?" Jake asks.

"Before sunrise is preferred." Ellie answers.

"Well, that means we should all get to sleep, then," Jase suggests.

The Pegasus seemed content, grazing on some grass and chatting with each other however Pegasus' chat, so we decided to turn into our tents for the night. I went inside my tent and climbed in my sleeping bag, dozing off effortlessly.

I woke up to people moving around outside. I look out of my tent and see it's still dark, but Brandon and Ellie are awake. I get up and begin helping them take down the camp. After a moment or so, the twins wake up and join us. It only takes a few minutes before we're all packed and ready, and in the air again. We fly for a while in silence, most of it due to everyone being tired. After about forty minutes, we fly down to an alley behind a small local cafe. We leave the Pegasus' in the alley, after promising to bring some food back for them and walk into the cafe where we sit at a booth.

The twins and I sit on one side and Brandon and Ellie sit on the other. A waitress comes over and takes our order, which is the all-you-can-eat-breakfast-buffet.

"Gods, this is amazing." Brandon mumbles, taking bite after bite of his pancakes.

They'd brought us plate after plate of pancakes, eggs, bacon, and sausage. Aside from Ellie, everyone was drinking orange juice. She had opted for milk instead and seemed to rather enjoy it. Everything was smooth selling for a while.

"L.A, huh?" Jake says, randomly.

"Yeah." Brandon answers.

"I've always wanted to go there." he admits.

"Well, now you get to. We might do some sight seeing, okay?" he says.

It's as though the closer we get to Maliah, the more he calms down.

"Cool." Jake smiles.

"Can I help you with anything else?" the waitress asks.

I stare at her, and for just a small moment her skin seems to shimmer. I don't know why, but instincts kick in and I get a bad feeling. I put my hand on my necklace and notice the others are just as uneasy.

"Ellie?" I ask.

"Pull." she says.

In just a split second, all of our weapons are in our hands and in front of us. The waitress grinned before her skin suddenly exploded and she was left as a wrinkled creature with wings. I had never done this before, but my adrenaline kicked in and I swung my sword. The creature hissed and jumped back, bumping into Brandon who sliced at her. Angrily, she turned and threw Brandon into a wall. I had barely noticed, but everyone had cleared out of the cafe by now. Ellie had turned her attention to Brandon, which proved to be a mistake as the creature charged at her. I didn't think before I'd tackled the thing the ground, Jase jumping over me as we fell and kicking her in the face. He had sent the fury straight to Brandon, meanwhile, Jake was stuffing our bags with whatever food and drink we could carry.

Ignoring Jake, I rolled off of Ellie and rushed to Brandon. He was quick, though, and already back on his feet. He and Jase both charged at the monster, and Ellie screamed his name. It was when she screamed, that I had noticed he had a large gash on his back, but he paid no attention to it or us. As she escaped Brandon's swing, Jake suddenly came from out of nowhere and cut her head off, a piece of toast hanging out of his mouth.

"So you're good for something other than stealing food?" Brandon laughs, falling to his knees.

We all rush over to him, and he pulls Ellie into his arms.

"Brandon-"

"Why did you stop focusing on her?" he asked her, angrily, putting her at arm's length.

"I-I, you were hurt, I want-"

"You could have been killed, Ellie. Never do that again," he says, his eyes softening as he pulled her back to him.

I could hear her crying into his chest and the sound made me never want to fall in love. This was the life of a demigod, we weren't safe even with each other.

"You're bleeding." she whispers.

"I'll be okay. I just need some ambrosia and nectar, then we leave," he says.

We all help him stand up, and Ellie hands him to the twins so they can hold him up. I stand in front of him, just in case he falls. It was a good decision because he did fall forward. It was hard to catch him at first, but I eventually steadied him while Ellie dug in her bag.

I began patting Brandon's face once I noticed his eyes were drooping, but I wasn't having any luck.

"I'm so sorry, Brandon. Don't hate me for this, but Ellie and Maliah need you." I say, rearing my hand back and slapping him.

My hand is stinging just as bad as I'm sure his face is, but he jolts awake.

"Shit!" he yelled.

I knew he was pissed, but he was awake.

Ellie comes back with some chocolate squares and a honey colored drink. She begins to force the items in his mouth and after a while, we help him stand and walk out to the alley. Jake feeds the Pegasus' while Ellie gets on Luna, the Pegasus she and Brandon share and Jason and I put Brandon on behind her. He weekly wrapped his arms around Ellie as tight as he could, and he didn't fall over.

"I'll follow you two up and the twins can lead," I suggest.

"Okay, that sounds good." Ellie agrees, "We'll camp in Ohio tonight."

"Okay."

We begin flying and Luna tells me that she believes Brandon is asleep. Luna seems to like me more than my own horse. After realizing we're only an hour away from where we're going to camp, Luna lurches forward and Brandon falls off behind her. I pull the reigns on my Pegasus and he dives down to catch him. I hear Ellie screaming from above us, but I force myself to focus on Brandon. As soon as we catch up to him, I reach forward and catch him by his shirt. As I start pulling him up, the fabric rips and he begins to slip out of my grip. I look down, seeing that we're above the Ohio river, and I lean forward to try to get a better grip on him but I fall over.

I pull Brandon close to me, somehow knowing I can help him in the water as long as I keep him close. We crash into the river in a matter of seconds.


	6. VI

Maliah

I feel a sudden rush of energy wash over me as we're engulfed in the water. I realize we can't fight against the current, so I focus hard and imagine us in a bubble. After a few minutes, I can breathe again. I look around and notice that we aren't in a bubble, though, instead, the water is separated on either side of us.

The others fly down and land in a dry area. Ellie gets off of Luna and runs toward us.

"You saved him!" she says, reaching us breathlessly.

"Well, duh." is all I can manage to say.

She glares at me, but I'm too weak to do anything other than smile sheepishly.

"Are you both okay?" she asks.

"Yeah, yeah, I think so," I say.

"_Heal him,_" a male voice whispers in my head, but it isn't my Pegasus.

"H-how?" I ask aloud.

Ellie looks at me oddly but says nothing.

"_The water, my son._"

I slowly drag Brandon to the water and put my hand in it. I use my other hand to touch the wound on his back. I concentrate and the water slowly runs up my arm, over my shoulders, and down my other arm to Brandon's wound. I can see his cut healing, the only evidence left is his cut shirt. Ellie rushes to us and squeals happily.

"You healed him! You healed him!" she screams enthusiastically.

"Yeah, it was nothing. We should hurry up and set up another camp because I'm starting to get a little tire-"

Suddenly there's nothing but darkness.

When I awake, I'm in my tent again. I slowly sit up and find the twins watching me intently.

"What happened?" I ask, holding my head as it pounds.

"Long story short, Ellie said you exhausted a lot of energy. You did a lot with your power without being properly trained in it. You passed out. She barely had time to get us all out of there before the water crashed back down. All the Pegasus were in the air by then and found us in the water. We climbed on to ours, she gave you to me, put Brandon on hers and we left with your Pegasus following behind us. They're all outside." Jase says.

"Oh. Okay. Where are we?" I ask.

"Missouri. If we leave now, we should be in L.A before nightfall." Jake says.

"What time is it?" I ask.

"Five." Jase answers.

"In the morning?" I ask.

"Well, duh," Jake responds.

"Why are you two awake at five in the morning?"

"We like watching you sleep." Jase shrugs.

"Freaks." I grin.

"We know." they say in unison.

We all start laughing and I'm reminded of how mundane our lives use to be. Last year, our only summer worry was what time we were going to the lake, not saving a girl's life. I guess we all make the same realization because our laughter dies down.

"Let's see if the other two are up," I say.

We stand up in the magically huge tent and walk outside, finding Brandon and Ellie.

"Thank the gods you're awake!" Ellie says, pulling me into a hug.

I'm too shocked to move. Why is she hugging me?

"She's hugging you because you saved my life. And we thought you were dead." Brandon chuckles.

Wait. I'd said that out loud?

Ellie releases me and looks between Brandon and me.

"You two truly are two very powerful demigods, Brandon Jones and Tyler Wright." she says.

"We need to get going. We still have four more states to go before we reach California." Jacob says.

"Alright. Let's do this!" Brandon announces happily.

We saddle up on the Pegasus and fly in a comfortable silence. It doesn't take too long before we're in California, and only an hour later we make it to L.A. Brandon had already been given the address so he leads us to Samantha's home. After about fifteen minutes, we land in the massive yard under one of the many tall oak trees. The mansion towers high above them. Brandon gets off of his Pegasus, everyone following his lead except for me.

"No, I'm doing this alone. Alone with Tyler." Brandon says.

"Why me?" I ask.

"You saved my life. I want you to watch out for her because you've proven you can. You will do that, won't you?" he asks.

"Of course," I say.

He grins and I get off the Pegasus and follow him up to the mansion. We walk up the brick stairs to the door and Brandon rings the doorbell. Out the double doors, comes a woman in a maid's uniform. She has dark brown hair and matching brown eyes.

"Yes?" she asks.

"We're looking for Maliah," Brandon says.

"She's outside in the backyard." she says.

She shuts the door before we can say anything else. We run to the fence and Brandon uses his magic to blow us over the fence. Brandon lands on his feet, but I land on my face. I groaned but sat up and looked around. Standing in front of us was a girl with reddish hair and electric blue eyes. She had a bag in her hands and was dressed in a red t-shirt, jean shorts, and red vans. She stared at Brandon. They looked alike, minus the fact that he practically towered over her. His dark eyes met her bright ones and they shared a smile, as though they had known each other for years.

She turned to me and her expression was replaced with one of shock.

"Tyler?" she asks, helping me up.

"You know her?" he asks, looking at me.

"Well, I-"

"We had a sort of dream meeting. Are you two here to help me?" she asks, looking at Brandon.

She released my hand and looked me over, as if to make sure I wasn't hurt.

"Okay, well since you sort of know us, I can fill you in on a little more. I'm Brandon Jones, son of Zeus and your brother. This is Tyler Wright, son of Poseidon, and someone who's going to help me protect you." Brandon says.

"Wait, we're kids of Zeus? Does that explain why I can do this?" she asks, floating into the sky as a lightning strikes her pool.

Her eyes had been squeezed tight and she tried to come down, but she fell on me and I steadied us.

"Are you okay?" I ask.

"Yeah, I'm sorry. I'm just terrified of heights, pretty ironic, huh? I just couldn't see where I was landing with my eyes closed." she says, sheepishly.

I chuckle but rub her back, realizing she was shorter than me as well. She was probably around 5'4 compared to my 5'5 and Brandon's 5'10.

"So we should probably go now and get back to camp," Brandon says.

"Okay, sounds good." she says.

They both use their abilities to go over the fence, leaving me behind.

"Hey, you guys forgetting something?" I ask.

"Oh, my bad," Brandon says.

After a minute, I'm over the fence. I landed surprisingly better this time than last.

We run back to the others and I find Maliah petting my Pegasus while he leans into her touch. I try to mount him, but he kicks me off. Maliah holds the current around me and helps me land.

"Are you okay?" she asks.

"Yeah, I'm good. The horse just doesn't like me very much." I laugh.

"Horse? He doesn't have a name?" she asks.

"Oh. I haven't thought about that." I say.

"You should name him River because of his eyes and who your dad is."

My Pegasus nods in improvement.

"Okay. River it is."

"Let's go, guys." Brandon urges.


	7. VII

The Prophecy

Maliah, taking a liking to River, rode with me. The trip back to camp had been a blur. The Pegasus, as it turned out, were a lot faster than we'd originally thought. They had gotten us back to camp by sunrise. By the time we'd landed, Maliah had fallen asleep. When we were getting off the Pegasus, she fell over but was maintained in the air.

"Cool trick, but you can put her down now." I laugh at Brandon.

"I'm not doing it," Brandon says, looking at Maliah in amazement.

"So, she's doing this on her own?" Jake asks.

"Yeah, it seems like it." Brandon mumbles.

"She's really powerful, we should get Chiron," Ellie suggests.

People were coming out of their cabins by now, Katelynn being one of the few to come up to us.

"Is she-"

"Yeah, she's pretty powerful, it seems," Ellie says.

"Let's go get Chiron," Katelynn suggests.

Ellie nodded and they went off to find him. It seems like ages before the girls finally run back, the old centaur in tow. I noticed that everyone was gathered around, everyone who was at camp that is. Chiron came closer to us, his eyes widening in surprise.

"Child of Zeus, awaken!" Chiron commands.

Maliah's eyes snap open just a second later, but before they close again, I catch a glimpse of them. They had been glowing, but when she blinked, they were normal again. Her powers stop and she begins falling out of the air, landing on Brandon.

"What happened?" she asks.

She seems uneasy once she realizes everyone's eyes are on her.

"You were floating in your sleep," I answer her.

"Not again." she mumbles, attempting to stand.

She falls down to her knees and Brandon steps forward, steadying her.

"Are you okay?" Brandon asks.

"She's lost a tremendous amount of energy. Bring her to the Big House, and bring Katelynn as well." Chiron says.

Together, we lifted Maliah to her feet, allowing her to lean on us as we helped her. Brandon and I were the most support, holding her on either side. As we moved, Ellie, Katelynn, and the twins followed behind us. After a while, she seemed to calm down and suddenly stumbled over herself, almost following forward. Brandon and I looked down and I realized she was asleep again. Brandon and I share a look.

"Wow, she must be really tired." I laugh.

"Yeah, must be." Brandon says, picking her up gently and carrying her.

Once we reach the Big House, we're led to an office. Only once we're there do I realize that it isn't even an office; we're in a huge room that has a ping-pong table that's missing the net. Surrounding the table are about fourteen or fifteen chairs. I walk over to one and watch Brandon follow behind. He takes Maliah and places her in a chair in between us, trying his best to make her comfortable. We all take our seats, waiting for the meeting to begin. It's quiet, until Maliah gasps in her sleep, but she doesn't wake.

Chiron rolls around and comes within earshot of us.

"It is very obvious that the seven of you are apart of the eight mentioned in the prophecy," Chiron says, clearing his throat.

"Prophecy? What prophecy?" I ask.

"You need a visit with the oracle. I'll return in a moment." Chiron says, leaving.

It's quiet until his return. With him is a petite girl with light brown hair and baby blue eyes.

"Hi, Kelsie," Brandon says, politely, but I don't miss his shiver.

"Who is she?" Jacob asks before he's shushed by Chiron.

"Kelsie is our oracle and she'll tell you the prophecy." Chiron answers.

A moment later, Kelsie's eyes turn a sickly shade of green and when she opens her mouth, more than one voice comes out.

_Two born of the skies, one born of the Underworld and one kissed by death are of the Big Three,_  
_They shall journey to save the missing, taking one of the fire and one of love with thee. _  
_One shall go missing, waiting to be found, _  
_One sleeps without touching the ground._  
_The twins born as thieves turn down a deal greater than wealth, _  
_A worried brother does nothing but protect, making him very likely to be plagued by death._  
_The boy who has been given a second chance has another journey to embark, _  
_The girl born by something so bright has a secret very dark. _  
_The girl of love will find her hatred of an unknown nation, _  
_None will be left unscathed when saving the Lost Generation._

The girl collapses to the ground, being caught by Jase.

"Go ahead, try piecing the prophecy together," Chiron suggests.

"The missing one is definitely Tony. It explains why no one can find him and just means we have to find him." Brandon says.

"The one who sleeps without touching the ground has to be Mal," I say, absently giving Maliah a nickname.

"Obviously I'm the one with a secret. Whatever that means." Ellie says, rolling her eyes and looking at Katelynn.

"I don't hate anything." she says, a hint of sadness in her voice.

"Well, it's obvious we know who we are but the Lost Generation?" Jake asks, a hint of confusion.

"It has to be Percy Jackson, Nico Di Angelo and their friends," I say, Brandon's earlier story lingering in my mind.

"The seven of you must get ready, then. You have a large quest ahead of you. You must first find Tony then save the Lost Generation." Chiron says.

There's a moment of silence until Brandon stands up.

"We should all go and get some rest. We have an early morning," he says.

"Do you even know where we're going?" Jase asks.

"Yeah. We're going to the underworld. Even though it was only mentioned because of Tony, it's still as good of a place as any to start." he responds.

"Okay." I say.

We all stand and he leans down, carefully lifting Maliah into his arms. I follow the others out of the Big House and to my cabin, and I find that a feeling of detest is rising in me. Sure, the cabin smelled like the ocean and it gave me a small comfort, but it was so lonely. Suddenly, I realized that this is how Tony must feel. He must be alone and scared. Alone, scared, and empty. Honestly, it sucked.

The next morning, I woke up to my door being pounded on. I was so tired, I chose to ignore it for a minute, convincing myself I was imagining things. The next round of pounds came on the door and I finally got up. I walked over to the door, running a hand through my hair, and open it. I find a frantic Maliah dressed in a tee-shirt, pajama shorts and wearing no shoes. Her tangled hair was sticky to the wet spots on her face and she was hyperventilating through her tears. When her eyes finally landed on me, she breathed a sigh of relief.

She slowly began to relax herself, wiping away her tears. I took a step to her but she never moved an inch. I took another step, and then another one until I was in front of her and pulling her into a hug.

"I thought you were dead. You were dead. It was so real." she said softly, her arms still limp at her side.

"What are you talking about? Are you okay, Mal?" I ask her.

"I had a dream. You were dead and it was so real. We were with Tony. We had just found him. There was a dock, and a monster and you saw that it was coming for me. I flew away but you just stayed there and died. You were dead and I thought it was real, Tyler. It seemed so real." she said, no longer crying.

She took a deep breath, relaxing completely. I smoothed her hair down and placed her at arms length. I look outside and see that the rain shower was finally stopping, even though it never reached the camp thanks to the protective border. I wondered when I had even noticed it was raining.

Maliah pulls back slightly, and uses her wrist to wipe her nose quickly. She adjusted her hair and looked at me for a moment, as if taking in what I looked like. I did the same. Her hair was wet and tangled and her eyes were red from crying. She was flustered, and probably embarrassed. But she was here, she was okay. I was glad she was okay, and that I wasn't actually dead.

"I'm glad you're okay, Tyler." she says, done with analyzing me.

"Yeah, me, too." I respond.

"We should probably both get ready. Busy day, right?" she asks, suddenly going back to normal.

I nod and she smiles at me before leaving out of the cabin, shutting the door behind her.


	8. VIII

Three Gods in One Day

After Maliah left my cabin, I stared at the door for a minute. I couldn't help but wonder about what could have gotten her so worked up. She seemed to be fine when she left, but I still couldn't make myself believe that she was truly okay now. I guess I'd have to wait and find out later.

I walked to my bathroom and turned on the light.

I was so locked into my own thoughts that I didn't notice the tall man standing behind me. Once he was in my line of vision from the mirror, I turned around and faced him. He was tall and well built. His hair was lighter than mine, and his eyes weren't the same color as mine, but his face. I stared at his face and it was mine. I noticed myself in his cheek bones, his jawline, his eyebrows. This was my dad. This was the man who hurt my mother, who abandoned us and here he was in front of me.

He has a grin on his face, and something inside me hates him for it.

"Tyler," he says, his voice proud and deep.

"Hello, Poseidon." I respond, curtly.

"It's very nice to see you, in person." he says.

I can tell that he means it. He has this hint of sincerity in his voice that only stands to make this worse for me. He missed me, I suppose you could say, but yet he never once tried to contact me or know me in my entire thirteen years? I couldn't make it make sense.

"Why are you here?" I ask with a loud sigh.

He studies me for a second.

"I can't apologize enough for allowing you to feel how you must have felt all these years. It is the deepest burden, being a demigod. I wish I could have reached out to you sooner. I've made mistakes, plenty of them, but now I want to start atoning for them. You have a sister, Tyler." he says, softly.

"I have a sister?" I ask.

"Her name is Sophia Witt. She's younger than you, twelve. She hasn't been claimed yet, but in seven months, I'm going to claim her. I want you to find her and escort her to the camp. She'll need you to guide her here. You have until next summer to get her to camp. I have faith in you. I know that you'll get her here."

I'm still processing everything he's told me but he doesn't hesitate to walk out of my bathroom, shutting the door behind him. After a moment, I walk outside, now having new questions. What does she look like? Is she smart? Does she listen to her parents and do well in school? Does she already have other siblings? How do I find her?

By the time I'm back inside the main part of the cabin, he's gone and my questions still linger.

I try to clear my head and I grab my packed bag for the trip. I run a hand through my long, messy hair and sigh. This is more than any normal thirteen year old should ever have to deal with, but then again I guess it's a good thing that I am not normal. I walk out to the edge of the camp, right near the entrance, and I see four hell hounds. They were calm, not viscous or snarling like I would have imagined, and they were patiently waiting.

Everyone else was already here, so I guess they'd just been waiting on me to come and join.

"Hey, Tyler, is it okay if Maliah rides with you?" Brandon asks.

"Sure, but I assumed she'd ride with you." I respond, confused.

"Well someone has to ride by themselves. Ellie is too scared to, I don't trust either of the twins, and it just makes sense that I should ride by myself to lead." he answers.

I think about it for a minute and it honestly is the most logical thing. The twins would for sure get lost if given the opportunity and then we'd be down a hound. It just wouldn't work out. Katelynn and Ellie get on their hound, the twins go next, then I get on mine with Maliah climbing on behind me. She lightly places her arms around me to hold on. Brandon climbs on his hound and looks back at us, making sure we're all ready.

Without any notice, he signals the hounds. One by one, the hounds jump into shadows. My stomach lurches as my hound follows suit. The empty feeling I have in the pit of my stomach is muted as I take in the eerie darkness we're surrounded by now. There's no light, no sound, there's nothing. If it weren't for Maliah being with me, I would think I were entirely alone just floating through the abyss. She tightened her grip on me, but only slightly. I wouldn't even know if she was trying to speak, I don't think I'd hear her. What feels like an eternity later, we emerge from the darkness.

Around us now is another dark area, illuminated with the glow of a warm green light. I'd seen this light at camp, it was Greek fire. While I look around, my eyes land on those of a tall and sickly pale man with black hair and deep, dark eyes. His eyes are cold and there is a snarl plastered on his face.

The man walks over to Maliah and me, picking her up and staring deep into her eyes. I'm too shocked to do anything, but Brandon is fast. He jumps off of his hound and approaches us.

"Hades, put my sister down." Brandon says, his tone all too calm.

"Watch your tone with me, son of Zeus." Hades threatens, turning away from him and back to Maliah.

"Hades, let her go." I say, finding my voice.

"Hush, I spared you once. I won't be so kind next time," he sneers.

"What do you want with her?" I ask.

He ignores me and only stares at the angry girl he holds.

"Where is my son, daughter of Zeus? I know you've had dreams about him. Tell me where Anthony is." he says, calmly.

"It would be in your best interest to release my children now, Hades," a loud voice booms.

I turned and find a man with white blonde hair. His tall and muscular, making his way to us. I know that he's Zeus, the father of my two friends, but my mind has trouble recognizing that I am in the presence of two gods. I was told by Brandon that the gods were forbidden to enter each other's territory unless invited. Why was Zeus here now?

"Ah, Zeus-y, how have you been?" Hades smiles dramatically.

"Hades, last warning. I will strike you down." Zeus says, menacingly.

"Well, I'd love to see-"

"Enough!" Maliah screams, the air whipping around us for a moment, "We don't know where he is. That's why we came here. We were hoping you could help us figure it out. I keep having dreams about a river and a dock but I've only seen him in these dreams once. I just know that the waves crash roughly on the shore right before-" she pauses, "It's in Greece."

"How do you know that that, Maliah?" I ask her, looking in between both of them.

"I've had more than one dream about that place, several since I was a kid, actually. I just never could place it together in my mind until now. It'll take us days to get there, and maybe even longer to search, but I think I can get us there." she says.

"Well we have the whole summer to search, and it's definitively going to take a while before we find the Lost Generation, at least now we have a place to start. We have a lead. So, now you can put her down, Hades." I say.

He stares at Maliah and rolls his eyes, dropping her a few feet to the ground. She catches, and steadies herself. She sends him a glare but rolls her eyes and looks away.

"Before you all leave, I have a gift for you, Maliah." Zeus says, walking over to her.

He digs in his pocket and produces a golden chain necklaces that houses a diamond. She takes the piece of jewelry in her hand. She stares at it, studying it, then clasps it around her neck. Zeus leans down, talking to her softly.

"The boy isn't the one one with a quest of his own, my young girl," Zeus says, pushing her hair out of her face, "The sword I've given you is made of Olympic gold, it can cut through anything including immortals. Do you accept the task that I've given you? Do you understand what you're going to have to do?" he asks her.

No one else had been paying attention at this point, only me. I didn't even mean to eavesdrop on their conversation, but I couldn't force myself not to.

"Yes, father. I understand. I accept my quest. I'll save the Lost Generation and I'll do what I have to do." she says, softly.

Zeus looks at his daughter, this thirteen year old girl whose just been given some task of a lifetime, and pulls her into his arms. She doesn't fall into the embrace. She keeps her arms at bay by her sides, allowing her dad to engulf her, but she doesn't participate on her own. I'm reminded of what happened when I comforted her only hours ago. I'd gotten the same reaction.

"Time to go everyone. We need to get Tony home." Brandon says, snapping everyone's attention to him.

We all mount our hounds and one by one, everyone leaves. Maliah is walking over to me, but she stops in her tracks and faces the god of the underworld.

"I don't know you, Hades. I don't know Tony, either, but I'm going to save him. I'm going to bring your youngest son back to you and then I am going to look for the Lost Generation. When I find them, I am going to bring you your oldest son, too. I don't like how you treated me, but your children wont be held responsible for that. I will bring your boys back to you. I swear it on the river Styx." she says.

"I'll hold you to it, Maliah."

She nods and mounts the hound, wrapping her arms around me once again.

"Are you okay?" I ask her.

"Just go," is all she says.

The hound obeys, jumping into a shadow and just like that we're consumed in the deep darkness once again.

After a moment, we emerge back into the real world and I see our friends. We both take a second to let our bodies and minds settle, then Maliah gets off the hounds. I grab her wrist, lightly, and she turns to me.

"If you need anything, I'm here for you. You know you have Brandon, but you have me, too." I tell her.

She stares at me, her head cocked to the side, but relaxes and nods.

"This is my burden, Tyler. I've accepted that."

With that, she walks away to our friends. I sigh and dismount the hound, scratching under his chin before joining the group.

"This is as far as the hounds are taking us." Brandon says, his sandy blonde hair sticking to his sweaty forehead.

"Where are we?" Jason asks.

"Florida." Ellie responds, sighing happily, she turns to Maliah, "Hi, I'm Eleanor Cooper,daughter of Hephaestus and your brother's girlfriend. You can call me Ellie, though."

"I'm Maliah, your boyfriend's sister, daughter of Zeus. You can call me Maliah, though."

Both girls laugh and Katelynn walks over to them, wrapping an arm around Ellie.

"I'm Katelynn Michaels, daughter of Aphrodite and Ellie's best friend."

"I'm Jason Wyatt, and this is my twin Jacob. You can just call us Jase and Jake, though," Jase says, motioning to his brother.

"We're sons of Hermes." Jake adds.

I take in my group of friends, my family, and smile. This is what was in store for me for the rest of my life and I never wanted it to end. This bond that I'd been building was so strong, so good. I would never want to lose sight of it.

_"All good things come to an end, demigod,"_ an eerie voice whispers to me.

I look around, searching for anyone the voice could belong to but there is no one. All of my friends are still talking and laughing in their own little worlds.

"So we need to start making a boat or something." Brandon says.

"I could do it, but I'm not as fast as my siblings so it may take a few days." Ellie says, almost embarrassed.

"That's okay. We could get rooms at a hotel to stay at while you work on it." Katelynn suggests.

"That's a good idea." Brandon says, "lets go get the rooms set up."

_"I'll see you soon, demigod,"_ the voice whispers again.


	9. IX

The Hotel

Katelynn had gone up to the front desk and flashed a sweet smile at the woman behind it. Even though the rest of us all had messy hair and looked completely disheveled, Katelynn looked great. I could only assume it's because she's Aphrodite's daughter. Her silver blonde hair was in a high ponytail and her pink camp shirt was tucked all the way around into her high waist shorts. She dusted her shoes off, then looked back up at the lady.

"We need a room," she says, sweetly.

"How old are you, kid?" the lady asks, a small laugh escaping her lips.

"Let's try this again," Katelynn smiles, "We need two rooms that are near each other and both should have two double beds."

Katelynn's tone had changed. She still sounded nice, but there was something almost so sickly sweet in her voice now that it almost bothered me. The lady behind the desk smiled and typed a few things into her system.

"Looks like we have something that could work. I have two rooms, 310 and 312." she says, looking back at Katelynn.

"Perfect, that'll work." she says, smiling.

"They'll be two hundred and forty-three dollars per night. How long are you staying?" the lady asks, getting ready to type whatever information Katelynn gives her into the system.

"We'll be staying for three days max but may check out early. Also, we have no money, but that's okay, right?" Katelynn asks, her voice doing the thing again.

"I've got you all set up in the system. Here are the card keys. Enjoy your stay," the clerk smiles.

"Thank you." Katelynn smiles politely, taking the packets and keys from the clerk.

She walks away and back over to us, smiling confidently.

"How did you do that?" Jake asked.

"Charm speak. It's something some of the kids of Aphrodite can do. I don't like doing it unless I absolutely have to, but I can't deny that it does come in handy." she said, picking her bags up off of the floor.

Once she adjusted her bags, she gave Brandon the packet and key card to room 312. That's where the guys would be staying. I grab my own bags, watching as Brandon helps both Ellie and Maliah with theirs and shouldering his own. I watched him smile happily to himself, probably not even realizing that his happiness was radiating off of him.

He looked so young now. He actually looked like a fifteen year old.

"We'll get some rest, and Ellie will work on the boat when she gets the chance to. Hopefully we'll be out of here in a few days." Brandon said.

"Sounds good." Jake chimes in.

"Do you think they have a pool?" Katelynn asks, cocking her head to the side.

"I'm sure." Jase grins.

We all make our way to the elevator, some of us talking about swimming and others talking about a plan of action to find Tony, figure out all of our other stuff, then save the Lost Generation. We don't have anything to go off other than Maliah's dreams. I looked over at the twins, then Katelynn, then Ellie and Brandon. My eyes land on Maliah last. She looks up at me, offering me a smile. I smile back and the elevator dings, releasing us from it's hold.

We all stepped out of the elevator, one by one. Our laughter filled the halls and we made our way down to find our rooms. The girls found theirs, and we walked down two doors over to our own. Brandon used the key card and got us into the room. We walked in, glancing around, and set our bags down near the door.

I didn't waste anytime before rummaging through my bag and finding a pair of swim trunks.

"I'm going to go change, who wants to go swimming?" I ask, holding the material in my hands.

"I'm down," both the twins respond.

I look up at Brandon who just shakes his head.

"I have a lot to plan out about our quest to find Tony, and the one to find everyone else. I just feel like I'm letting them down if I'm not completely focused on it," he told me.

"Do you want us to stay and help?" I ask.

"No, you guys go and have fun. We don't get the opportunity for fun a lot."

I nodded. I walked into the bathroom and changed. When I was done, the twins followed suit one by one. When we were all ready, the twins started walking out of the door. I took one last glance at Brandon. He was perched up on the bed, writing in a notebook and staring at a map. I gave him a wave and left, shutting the door behind me.

As we exited, we saw Katelynn and Maliah coming out of their room. Both had on a large t-shirt and were carrying towels, like us.

"You guys going swimming, too?" Katelynn asked.

"Yeah, is Ellie going to join?" Jake asked, noticing she wasn't with them.

"No, she wants to get started on the boat." Maliah answered.

"Oh, that sucks. Let's not waste anymore time." I say, grinning, "Race you to the ground floor."

And just like that, the hall is filled with laughing thirteen year old kids running to the pool in a hotel they didn't even pay for. We weren't demigods. We didn't have a life or death mission. We were just happy kids. None of us knew it then, but we wouldn't have that same care-free happiness for a while. Not all of us all at once.

Once we reached the indoor pool everyone jumped in, minus Katelynn. She went to the shallow end and used the stairs to walk in. She never went further than where she could touch but she still laughed, joked and splashed water around with the rest of us.

"So what are your plans for when school starts back?" I ask aloud.

"I'll go back to school, see some of my friends and then come back to reality again in the summer." Katelynn answers.

"We'll go back to raising hell at school, of course." the twins respond.

"I'll be busy juggling school and training that I have to do for my dad." Maliah answered.

"What about you?" Katelynn asked.

"I also have to do something for my dad. Something tells me that it's going to be hard to balance my quest and school but I guess I have to try." I respond.

"What quest?" Maliah asked, cocking her head to the side.

"I have a sister." I say, looking down.

I don't know if I was supposed to keep that a secret or not, but I felt like I should tell them. Finding out that I had a sister out there really stressed me out and not having anyone to talk to about it only made it worse.

"How long have you known about her?" Maliah asks.

"My dad told me today, before we left." I answered.

"You have a sister? That's so cool." Jase says.

"Yeah. You have one, too, dork. Hopefully we'll have enough time when we get back for you guys to get closer to Lacey."

"Hopefully. She seems like a good kid. Hearing her story really sucks." Jake adds.

We all swam around and talked to each other for a while. I couldn't remember the last time I'd been this at ease and had felt this accepted. I drop down to the bottom of the pool, like I'd done so many times before. I wonder if this was a thing for all of us Poseidon children. Does my sister, Sophia, do this? Did Percy Jackson ever do this? How much longer would it be until I found both of my siblings?

I surfaced back up from the water.

* * *

This is a completely new chapter to the story, as it wasn't in the previous version. I wanted to give a little bit of down time where there was a little more bonding just to make everything flow smoother.

Thanks for reading!

XoXo

Gabby


	10. X

A Little Truth Always Hurt Somebody

We'd all stayed up at the pool until it closed. When we were done, we all went back to our own rooms, deciding to turn in for the night and get an early start in the morning. I went inside the room and went to the bathroom, ready to shower.

Brandon had been asleep when we returned, the maps and notes now moved to a desk and off of the bed he'd chosen. The twins were talking and laughing quietly, watching something on the t.v. When I exited the bathroom, Jase went in behind me. The twins had already settled into one bed, so I sat down next to Brandon. He was still asleep and his papers were still sprawled out along the desk.

Some of the papers were covered by other papers, some were crumpled up into little balls, and others had outlines, markings, drawings or ancient Greek symbols. I knew this entire Lost Generation thing was important to Brandon but I had no idea it meant this much. Sure, it meant he'd meet his two older siblings, but this was obsessive. I picked up one of the papers, holding it gingerly in my hands as the sounds of snores from the twins mixed into Brandon's. This paper only held a symbol and a drawing of a woman with cold, harsh eyes. I look over at Brandon again.

He'd grown up hearing the stories of these heroes and the stories of their capture. Of course he'd be obsessed with finding them. He'd been in this world so much longer than I had, and he felt this connection to them. He felt the devotion to them. He would stop at nothing until he had them safe and returned to camp.

I take another piece of paper and try to decipher the words. It's hard and it takes me a moment because of my dyslexia and his awful handwriting.

_**Percy Jackson**_

_Arrives at Camp Half-Blood at the age of 12._

_Killed a Minotaur while crossing the borders his very first night._

_Helped save Thalia's tree, and her life._

_Helped the gods defeat Kronos._

_Loved Annabeth Chase. Where's Annabeth Chase? Did she age or die in her own time or is she with them?_

_Which is worse?_

I looked at the paper again, and put it down, grabbing the next.

**Jason Grace**

_Initially in Roman camp._

_Incredible son of Zeus._

_Brave and honorable, even in death._

_Why did she bring him back to life, just to seal him away? What does she want?_

I drop the papers back on the desk and stare at Brandon. His older brother, that he wanted to save so badly, had already died in his own time and this person who took them was powerful enough to resurrect him? Is that why he was so obsessed with this one mission? Did he feel that he owed it to him to save his second chance at life?

Brandon looked young in his sleep. The same way he looked younger the first time he smiled at his new sister. I knew this quest was going to take all of the little youth he had left and swallow it. I felt so bad for him. I had to help him succeed, no matter what.

We had to bring them home.

I don't remember how I fell asleep. I just know that in my dreams I saw this wall with chains and the back of someone's head as they knelt forward in the chains, almost lifeless. I could see parts of his bare shoulders, the gashes and cuts and the blood. His black hair was matted with sweat and his shoulders barely moved. It was the only movement that even indicated he was alive.

"Hello?" I called out.

He didn't answer, didn't even look up.

"Hello?" I asked, again.

I had to admit though, my voice even sounded small to myself. The sound of a door opening startled us both, and he looked up. His green eyes weren't looking at me, they were looking past me. His left eye was swollen almost shut and he had a cut on his lip.

"Oh no, no, no. He can't be here. No free shows." a woman laughed.

I jolted awake. I had a chill run down my entire body because I recognized that woman's voice. It was the same one who'd been speaking to me with idle threats.

"Tyler, are you okay?" Brandon asks, staring at me from his work.

The twins weren't here, and the clock next to me read 6:05am.

"I had a dream. I heard the voice of this woman. It was silky but cold and there was this guy chained up to a wall. He was in really bad shape."

"What did he look like?" he asked, curiously.

"He had scars and gashes all on his shoulders, messy black hair, and I think his eyes were green. Why?" I asked him.

Brandon sighed deeply, his eyes showing no emotion at first. But he looked at me again, and his eyes softened.

"You should go get breakfast with the others down in the lobby. I'll catch up in a little bit." he said.

I stared at him quizzically but let it slide.

"Okay. I'll see you in a few."

I got up and changed then made my way down to the elevator. I never stopped seeing that guy's face. It was haunting my thoughts just the same as that woman's voice. Who was he and why did I see him?

The elevator dings to alert me that I've made it to my destination, the lobby.

I walk out and march over to the area labeled "breakfast for guests", or I assume that's what it says. I grab a plate and a glass of orange juice and march up to the counter, getting eggs, bacon, toast and sausage. I look around for a moment before I catch Ellie's bright red hair. I grin and walk over to their table, taking the seat in between Maliah and Jase.

"G'morning." he manages through his mouth full of breakfast.

"Morning to you, too." I laugh.

I glance around at the table and notice Jake is stuffing his face, Ellie and Katelynn are talking, and Maliah is completely out of the loop. She's pushing her food around, her light red hair is messy, and when she looks at me because I'm staring at her, I notice how tired she looks. She has dark circles under her eyes and they're squinted, probably trying to close.

"Are you okay?" I ask her quietly.

"Yeah. I'm just tired."

She finally takes a spoonful of eggs into her mouth and like that, the conversation is over. I think back to the guy from my dream again. Then to Brandon's notes on Jason Grace. Was this ever going to be over? Could we really find them?

My thoughts are interrupted by Brandon sitting down in between Ellie and Jake, the only other available seat. He has his own food, and he looks just as tired as his sister. He sips his black coffee and kisses Ellie on the forehead. Almost immediately, they get into a conversation about the boat.

"Hopefully we'll be out of here after breakfast tomorrow." she says.

"That would be amazing. Keep up the great work, El." Brandon smiles, hugging her with one arm.

She smiles back and soon they're engulfed in a different conversation all together and Katelynn is focused on eating her breakfast now. Maliah ends up finishing her plate around the same time that I do.

"I'm still really tired, I think I'm going to go take a nap." she announces, while standing.

"Yeah, I need to get back to piecing together things about the LG. I'll talk to you later, Ellie." Brandon says, hugging her tightly after they both stand.

"I guess I'll get back to working on the boat." Ellie says before taking her own things to dispose of and leaving.

We all grab our empty plates and glasses, taking them to be disposed of. I stop Maliah, touching her shoulder, and turn her to me.

"Are you okay? Really?" I ask her.

"I have a lot on my mind." she says, softly.

I nod and squeeze her shoulder. She gives me a reassuring smile and leaves. I wait on the twins and walk with them to the elevator.

"I'm so stoked to save this generation of heroes before us. It's going to be so cool to meet them, talk to them." Jake grins.

"Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves, we need to save them first." I remind him.

"I think we can do it." he says, confidently.

Inside the elevator, the bell dings and the doors open. We get out and walk to our room.

"Why haven't we been attacked by monsters here yet?" I ask, almost suspiciously.

"I asked Brandon the same thing," Jase says, "it's because the guy who constructed and owns this hotel is a demigod. He's a son of Athena and he worked with a child of Hecate to ward off the building from monsters when it was built around four years ago."

"Oh, wow. That's amazing." I say.

I could get used to this. A warded building where I'm completely safe from danger as long as I stay inside? Why would I ever want to leave? Except I have a sister to save. Then a boy I've never met. Lastly, I have to save a brother I never met. Then I have to save his friends.

I think back to the guy I saw in my dreams, again. We walk into the room and Brandon is there, compiling his notes and theories into one giant stack. The twins announce that they're going to go down the gift shop, as its a necessity that they get more clothes. When they're gone, I turn to Brandon.

He's concentrating hard on his theories, he doesn't even notice me.

"Who is he?" I ask Brandon as he goes over his work.

He looks up at me and cocks his head to the side.

"What are you talking about?" he asks.

"The guy that I saw last night in my dreams. Who is he?" I ask again.

Brandon is quiet for a minute, as he ponders how to respond to my question. Finally he sighs.

"We have no idea how many kids they've taken from that generation of heroes. All of them should be dead because to us, forty is eighty. That's just how we age. Between the monsters, the wars, the gods themselves, it's so hard for our species to survive. Some of them could be dead. Some could be alive. Some could be captured. Or maybe some were dead and brought back just to be held captive and tortured. There's no telling who exactly you saw in your dream, Tyler."

"So some could have been dead and brought back to life, like Jason Grace?" I ask him.

He tenses up for a minute.

"You read some of my notes?" he asks.

"I was curious," I admit, "you've been holed up in here working on nothing but this since we've arrived. I couldn't help it. I'm not surprised, though. These are your siblings that you're trying to save."

Then it hits me.

"Is it my brother?" I ask him.

He pauses and stares at me.

"I've only seen photos of Percy Jackson. The way you described him, though, it sounds like it could have been a vague description of him."

I stare at him for a minute, trying to wrap my head around the new information. I was dreaming of my brother, this guy I'd only just heard of, but why?

"Do you dream about Jason? Or Thalia?" I ask him.

"Yes. Often. The same way I dreamed of Maliah, and sometimes the same way you dreamed of Percy last night. It's like they're reaching out to us, Tyler. I just haven't found out how to trace the call."

* * *

This is another new chapter, kind of focusing more on why Brandon is so obsess with finding the Lost Gen

Thank you reading, hope you enjoyed it!

XoXo

Gabby


	11. XI

Empty thoughts and Emptier Promises

Following our conversation, I went to the pool again while Brandon mulled over his research. I was pleasantly shocked to find Katelynn and Maliah at the pool as well.

"I thought you were taking a nap." I say, glancing at Maliah.

"I couldn't sleep." she answered, honestly.

I nod. Being thrown into this life was exhausting. It was hard to remind myself that we were all still kids. We were only thirteen tasked with the mission to save the world.

"I thought it would be nice to come down and swim again. I see you had the same idea." Katelynn grinned.

"Yeah, I love being in the water." I said.

"I wouldn't go that far, but it is nice." Katelynn responded.

Maliah smiled, obviously in agreement. I rolled my eyes at them, playfully and splashed water at them. They laughed and splashed back. We did that for a while, playing and talking with each other. We went like that for a few hours before tiring ourselves out. By the end of it, I was wading in the deep end, Katelynn was sitting on the steps in the shallow end, and Maliah was lying on her back, floating in the calm quiet.

Dad, I prayed, I don't know how I'm supposed to do this. I don't even know if I can.

Nothing. I guess I was naive to think I'd get a response from him. He'd already given me a gift, the knowledge of my sister somewhere out there, and here I was asking for more. I sighed. I was so lost.

"What are you thinking about?" Maliah asks, wading up to me.

I look around and see that Katelynn was no longer there.

"Where Kate go?" I ask.

"She started feeling tired and headed up to the room. I told her I'd meet her there in a bit. Are you okay?" she asks.

Her blue eyes look at me quizzically. There was something behind them. In them, I saw more than just an overwhelmed and scared little girl. There was something so far past her normal that I couldn't even put my finger on it.

"I think I'm okay." I tell her, only half lying.

If I could get out of my own head and give myself a minute to breathe, and to think, I think I would be okay.

"Okay. I just wanted to make sure. You know, you're not suffering alone. We're all going through something. It's the price we pay, I think." she says.

We were both now able to stand in the pool and she was looking up at me. I was only an inch taller than her, but she looked so much smaller now. It hadn't occurred to me just how much she was keeping bottled up inside of her. Sure, I knew a little bit about what she was about to have to embark on, but in all honesty, I had no clue about it at all.

"My dad is claiming my sister on December 1st. I have until next summer to get her to camp, but it would be more than ideal to get her there before she's claimed. Once she knows about who she is, they won't stop coming for her. The second she's claim, she'll never be safe again." I tell her.

"I'm so sorry. That's not fair to you. Your dad is placing a lot on you." she says.

"No more than your dad is giving you." I remind her.

For a minute her eyes flash, but she settles. I was right. Whatever she had going for her was ten times worse than what I had to deal with.

"A long time ago there was a demigod woman. She grew up to live into her twenties. She was the daughter of Hecate and an average demigod. She was brave, though, and prideful. She sacrificed herself for one of the gods. She was granted the gift of being a minor goddess in return for such a heroic act. She accepted it and became the minor goddess of hatred and death. The lady I'm supposed to kill." she told me.

"How do you feel about it?" I ask, "Having to kill her, I mean."

"I don't know. I guess since killing monsters, I was able to come to terms with that but this is a being with a body that resembles a human. She's a god. She used to be us. She was just a scared little kid at some point wondering why mommy didn't care enough to drop in and say hey. Or wondering why the only time they contacted was for a life or death disaster. She was me. And I'm going to end her for good. I feel pity and empathy. I feel so much for it, I don't think I understand what I feel completely."

"It's not fair to make you do this. Why can't the gods do it themselves?"

"The prophecy says it has to be me. After the Lost Generation, I'm the only- well, first daughter born of the Big Three and I'm the fourth child with one living older brother in my own timeline, and two distant relatives, you and Tony. We are so strong, Tyler, you have no idea. But the limits of my power are almost unimaginable. I'll have to train so much after this quest just to get a handle on it." she says.

"Have they told you more than that?" I ask her.

She shakes her head, her blue eyes looking at me.

"My dad said that when the time comes, I'll be told everything else I need to know."

She takes a deep breath, seemingly upset by that. I smile at her and place her hair behind her ear.

"My mom used to tell me that when I was scared, it meant I had something to lose. She told me to always remember that, and at first I had no idea why she was so cryptic to a boy who was scared of monsters under his bed. Then I realized the monsters weren't under my bed and I certainly did have a lot to lose."

She looked up at me and I saw a hint of sadness in her expression.

"You're going to find your sister, and I'm going to kill that woman, and we are going to save the world. I swear it."

She looked so certain and so defiant in that moment, and I thought time stood still. I smiled at her, and nodded. I never would have known that this would be my life, but with friends like the ones I had, I wasn't worried anymore.

Brandon was sleeping when I got back and the twins were happily munching on some candy bars they'd lifted from the gift shop in the lobby. Jase tossed me one with a grin.

"Don't worry," he said, "we were thinking about you, too."

I laughed at him and opened the candy bar, eating it.

I thought back to Maliah in the pool, how determined and sure she sounded about this entire mess. If she could assure me that everything was going to be okay when she had a task as big as she did, I could believe it, too. It was enough to make me relax a little. I looked back at the twins, watching them laugh and push each other around while they joked. This is what my life used to be, back when I was Tyler Wright, Rachel Wright's son. Now I was Tyler Wright, son of Poseidon, god of the sea.

How did my life become this?

How was my sister going to feel when I showed up and snatched her from everything she knew, the same thing that Brandon did to me, to us? Would she resent me for it? Did I resent Brandon? I couldn't even answer that, not honestly, because I didn't know. How could I uproot Sophia's entire life the way that mine had been?

I guess I really didn't have a choice, though. What I have was a deadline. December the 1st. It was the end of May now. I had seven months. Just a little over half a year, but I couldn't even start until we finished this quest. I would have even less time then.

"You okay, Ty?" Jase asks.

"Yeah. I just have a lot on my mind, I guess. I'm ready to save Tony, then find my sister, and maybe catch a break." I admitted.

"I don't think we'll be catching any breaks as long as we live, Ty." Jake said.

I agreed.

"Maybe we'll leave here soon, though. I can't wait to be on the ocean and barreling in to save Tony." I admitted.

I had never met him, but I couldn't wait to bring him home to safety. He must have been so scared and alone. I couldn't imagine it, not now when I was surrounded by all of these people.

"I hope that's how it works out." Jase says, not sounding so sure.

"Trust me, I imagine something will go wrong. If we can keep the mishaps to a minimum, though, we might actually pull it off." I say.

The twins nod and soon they're engulfed in whatever is playing on the hotel T.V. I grab Brandon's research and re-read over everything he'd compiled on Percy Jackson. I couldn't wait to meet him. The guy in the ink on these pages did not make me think of the one I had seen, all tattered up and beaten down. Nothing about this was right at all. I had to free him. I had to help him. I had to know him. The person in those chains was not the person that my friends had heard stories of. He was someone else. I couldn't stand the thought that someone had broken him. And what of the girl he'd loved?

When he was free, would she be there waiting for him or would she have already been long gone?

* * *

This is the last completely new chapter before everything else is just back on track with the original story. Hope you enjoyed it!

XoXo

Gabby


	12. XII

Pinkie-Promise? An Oath on the River Styx

"I did it, I did it!" Ellie squealed, causing me to open my eyes.

When my vision finally came to focus, there she was hugging Brandon from behind as he sat at the desk. His papers were still sprawled out in front of him, with no indication of how long he'd been digging into his work.

"That's amazing," he said, a genuine smile on his face.

"Thank you." she beams, "Are you all ready to go?"

"Yeah, let me just get them up and we'll pack and head out."

"Okay, Kate and Maliah are getting ready right now. I say we grab breakfast and leave."

"Okay, sounds good."

I hear the door shut, indicating she'd left back to her own room. I sit up in the bed and look over at Brandon's work.

"We'll find them, you know." I assure him.

"I believe it. It's how we find them that bothers me."

"I'm sure everyone back at camp is working nonstop to devise a plan and find a location."

"I'm sure you're right, but that's not what I meant, Tyler," he sighs.

"Then what did you mean?" I ask.

He takes a minute to ponder before responding, "I don't know if we're going to find them alive."

I let the words sink in before nodding and getting out of bed. I didn't blame him for those thoughts, not after what I'd seen of Percy Jackson. This lady hated him. She hated all of them, why else would she do this?

The twins woke up and we all began packing. Once we were done, we met the girls down at the lobby where Katelynn was charmspeaking our way out of the hotel with no record of payments.

"Yes, it was on the house. You didn't want us kids to have to pay for rooms, poor us." she said, the sickly sweet tone sending shivers down my spine.

"Ah, you're right. Thank you, miss, have a good day." the man smiled, typing away on the computer.

"Bye, you, too." she said, her voice back to normal.

"You're scary." Jase said, laughing, when she came back over to us.

She just laughed it off and we all followed Ellie away from the hotel and two miles down to the beach. As we walked, no one really said much to each other. When we made it to the beach, Ellie led us deep into the woods where she'd been building her masterpiece. It was a very nice sized boat, not the size of a cruise ship but still big enough to host all of us with no effort. Ellie led us all into the boat, giving us a quick tour of our rooms and the kitchen along with the other places she'd built in.

She'd really outdone herself. Not to mention, she'd prayed to her dad for other items and he was kind enough to grant her prayers.

"So, how are we getting her into the ocean?" Brandon asked.

"I was hoping to leave that to Tyler. Maybe he could pull enough water here to bring us out?" she asked, hopefully.

I didn't necessarily like being put on the spot like that, but she was right. There really wasn't much other choice. I closed my eyes and concentrated on the pull of the tides and urged them to us. After a minute, water was surrounding us, carrying us gently to the large body of water where we'd be on our way.

It felt so amazing being on the water, finally. I had never felt better.

"I think I'm going to be sick." Brandon announced.

"Me, too." Maliah agreed.

They both looked pretty awful. I guess since their dad was the god of the skies, they wouldn't like being out at sea too much. I couldn't really blame them. I wasn't too crazy about flying. After a while of us being out at sea and Maliah and Brandon's absences, I decided to check on them. However, Ellie had already gone to Brandon's room to make sure he was still okay. I decided then that I'd check on Maliah.

I walked down the corridor until I reached her room. I knock on the door, "Maliah, are you okay?"

After a moment, the door flies inward and I fly with it. I'm held in the air and Maliah turns and gasps.

"I'm so sorry," she says, "I really didn't think it would be that strong of wind. I really need to work on that."

She's walking toward me but I'm still suspended, hovering.

"It's okay, could you put me down, though?" I laugh.

"Oh, yeah."

I drop from the air but I hit her on my way down, rolling onto my back and my foot kicking the door. It closes with a loud thud and Maliah lands on me, laughing. She hadn't laughed much since I'd met her, it was a nice sound. She stares at me, a smile on her lips.

"I can't believe you fell on me," she accuses with a laugh. She pulls her arms from under my back and holds herself up with her hands. I prop myself up on my elbows.

I laugh with her, "Uh, technically you fell on me."

She's still staring at me, not moving, but her face relaxes. I remember the time I hugged her, comforting her and she didn't reciprocate. I remember when she reacted the same way with her father. Here we were, in this position and she didn't run away this time. Her arms were on either side of me and my elbows were stinging to get into a better position. I remember being at the pool with her, again. I remember how close I was to her in that moment and I wondered if she was finally beginning to trust me. I raise my hand to her face.

"What are you thinking about?" I ask her, softly.

She's startled, but only a little. She looks at my eyes, searching them, I think. I can't stop thinking about the pool. She looks through me. I remember pushing her hair back yesterday, I do it again now.

"Brandon told me about the promise you made, the one to protect me."

I don't say anything. I drop my hand from her face and use that arm to prop me up again.

"Yeah, I did." I say.

I'd make that promise again.

"I want you to promise me, Tyler, to pinkie-swear to me that we'll always protect each other. I don't care what comes and goes, I don't care who we turn out to be. I want to always protect you and I want you to always protect me. Promise me. Swear it to me on the river Styx and I'll swear it to you."

She has that determined look on her face again. I think about when I met her, and the night we reached camp. How could a girl like her ever need my protection? I think back to the pool, again. I think about right now, how we hold each other. How could I ever not protect her?

"I pinkie-promise to you and I swear it on the river Styx that we will always look out for each other."

"I do, too." she says.

I continue to stare at her for a moment, and she closes her eyes, allowing herself to sink into me. I keep one elbow propping me up, and I wrap my other arm around her.

"Maliah?" I ask.

"I'm tired," she says, softly, "the ocean, the waves, they make me tired and I can feel them through you, Tyler. You move with the waves and I'm so exhausted."

I keep my arm wrapped around her and I stand with her, lifting her into her bed that Ellie had prayed to her dad for. I place Maliah in the bed, her breathing slowing to steady rhythm and turn to leave, but her hand catches mine. I remember the day I met her, and her hand in mine when she helped me up.

"Tyler," she says, "will you stay here with me? I don't like being in the ocean. It scares me."

"Okay." I say, climbing beside her in the bed. I sit up against the wall and she sighs contently, burying herself in her pillow and blankets. I know she's asleep soon after. She was right about one thing, she was exhausted. I don't think she'd slept more than eight hours since we'd left the camp.

The amount of things that must travel through her mind, I couldn't imagine. She finally looked stress free, now that she was sleeping. I think today was the most I'd seen her laugh and smile. I relax a little, knowing that I can help her, even in just this small way. I think about my oath to her. I knew I would always try my best to protect her but could I ever allow her to put herself in danger, to do the same for me?

Looking down at her, I wasn't so sure.

I closed my eyes, resting them as sleep overtook me and I saw him again. I saw the guy in chains with new bruises and cuts on his shoulders, chest and back. He looked so defeated.

"Percy," I called out to him, "Percy Jackson."

"Brother," he responded, looking up.

He was still badly beaten and tattered, but this time he didn't look past me.

"We're going to help you." I promise him.

"Save..." he begins, weakly. He takes a minute, catching his breath, "Save him. S-save Tony."

I wake up to pounding on the door. As I open my eyes, Brandon walks in. My neck hurts because of how I slept last night, but I ignore it when he approaches.

"You slept in here last night?" he asks, his eyebrows raised.

"Yeah, Maliah didn't want to be alone with us being in the ocean and all." I say.

He stares at me and looks down at her.

"She really is exhausted. I can't imagine all the weight she carries."

"Yeah," I agree, "me, either."

"Look, we were all worried about you. Both of your rooms are on the opposite sides of the kitchen and the kitchen caught fire a few hours ago and no one had seen you. We were worried. I'm glad you were in here, though. Even if the fire didn't spread, if it had I'm happy to know she wouldn't have been alone. Thanks for keeping an eye out for her and being here-"

His nice show of appreciation had turned into a ramble.

"Brandon, you're rambling." I laugh.

He stops and calms down, "Oh, i'm sorry."

I laugh and relax a little.

"Anyway, breakfast is ready and uh, feel free to sleep in here as long as it's okay with her. I like knowing she has someone to look out for her."

I feel my cheeks heat up, "Uh, okay, thanks."

He nods and turns to leave, but I stop him.

"Brandon?"

"Yeah?"

"What happened to the kitchen?"

He stops dead in his tracks and turns around to me. He walks back to Maliah's bed and gets as close to my ear as he possibly can. He talks in a hushed voice, "I heard Ellie talking to someone. It was super late and she was angry, like unbelievably angry. She was arguing with a man and it sounded like her dad, like Hephaestus, but someone else was there and he was just as angry with her. They were all arguing in hushed whispers and suddenly she got louder and there was a loud explosion. I went in and she was the only person there, the kitchen was in flames and she was passed out. I knew she did it, Tyler. I don't know what happened but you can't tell anyone, please. I don't want her to feel worse than she already does."

I looked at Maliah, knowing I would cover for her if she ever lost control like that. I nodded, "Yeah, no problem. I won't tell anyone."


	13. XIII

Medusa and her Reluctant Minions

Fifteen minutes. That's how long I had been trying to wake up the sleepy sky daughter. She just wouldn't budge. I shook her, I talked to her nicely, I messed up her already messy hair but nothing budged her. Not until I told her breakfast was ready. She then shot out of the bed and raced out of the room into the corridor.

After a minute, she of course came back into the room with a sheepish grin on her face.

"Uh, where's the kitchen?" she asked, almost embarrassed.

I laughed at her and walked up to her, slinging my arm across her shoulders.

"Well, m'lady, it'll be this way." I say, leading her toward the left kitchen entrance.

She laughed, leaning into the embrace, "Well my good sir," she said with an awful British accent, "I certainly do hope they have bacon."

I mimic her.

"Ah, of course madame, we can't not-" she paused dead in her tracks, catching my attention. I look at her, and ask in a normal voice, "Are you okay?"

"Can you hear that?" she whispers.

"Hear what?"

"Shh. Listen."

I do what she says and I stop talking, opening my ears and listening for anything. I hear nothing. I'm about to tell her it was her imagination, then I hear it. The low hissing hum of snakes.

"There shouldn't be snakes on the ship," I say, my grip on her tightening.

Our oath last night is stuck in my head.

"Sn-snakes? Snakes on the sh-ship?" she stutters, fear high in her voice.

"Yeah, I-"

"Wrong, demigod." A voice says, catching our attention and sending chills down my spine, "There is a snake on this ship. And she's about to make you into a cute lawn ornament."

I turn around to find a woman with a headscarf wrapped around her head and sunglasses. Brandon is screaming down the corridors, "Everyone stay in your rooms!"

It's too late for Maliah and me, though. We're right in her line of fire.

"Medusa," I say, unsure of how I'm so certain that it's her.

"Yes, demigod. Now prepare to turn to stone. At least you and that terrified little girlfriend of yours will be frozen for all of eternity in that cute position."

She laughs evilly and begins to unwrap her head. There are other snakes on the ship though, slithering around and Maliah sees them, whimpering at the sight. I pull her close to me, telling her not to look. Medusa begins removing her sunglasses and finishes taking off her wrap but Maliah lets out a blood curdling scream and a gust of wind so powerful it almost knocks me over materializes and slices the monster in half.

I turn to Maliah and I see her eyes glowing that bright shade of blue again. I'm about to speak until she screams again, this time in pain. I focus harder and see a blond boy holding a sword and Maliah is holding her side, blood spilling on her hands.

Before I can do anything, another boy with brown hair grabs the blond and punches him. She's still screaming, the air around us going into a frenzy. The boy with the brown hair, still fighting the blond, turns to us and screams, "Get her out of here, now!"

He punches the blond again and I grab Maliah, scared of hurting her even more, and move her, pulling her back into her room. She'd stopped screaming, the air dying down, and I noticed that she hadn't shed a single tear. Not even after being stabbed. I didn't understand. I couldn't focus on it, though, I had to get help.

"Brandon! Ellie!" I scream, "Help! There are two weird guys on the ship and Maliah is hurt and we need help!"

Brandon ran into the room, his eyes widening when he saw how bad she was hurt and how much blood she was loosing. He pulled her out of my arms and I crashed to my knees. I'd had so much adrenaline a minute ago, and now all of it was gone and replaced with fear. I was so scared that she was going to die. Ellie had been outside, fighting with the two strange boys, and I could hear Brandon screaming for her to get to safety.

I felt a hand touch my head and I looked up, seeing Maliah. She was concerned about me? When she was as hurt as she was, I didn't understand.

"Tyler, please watch her. I have to go make sure Ellie is okay." Brandon pleaded.

I nodded, taking Maliah into my arms as she slowly collapsed. Her breathing was so bad. She felt so weak in my arms. Our oath burned in my mind. I didn't protect her. I had promised her. She hugged me. It was the first time ever that she hugged me, and I was too scared to hug her back. I was too scared to hurt her. Her eyes close shut.

I hear an explosion in the hallway and then silence.

After a minute, the twins and Katelynn come into the room. Brandon followed suit. Everyone was shaken up. No one knew exactly what happened to us, to her, but they knew that it was something bad. I could only barely make out what they were saying, everything was so distant. They could tell that she was really hurt. I had no idea how to help her right now.

Ellie comes into the room hold both of the strange boys by their arms. I look up at them and I my eyes land on the blond haired boy. I'm blinded by rage and I stand up, wanting to confront him, but I didn't realize Maliah was still awake and was holding onto me completely. All of the noise, the talking, it all came back into focus.

"Tyler, no!" Jase said.

"Tyler, Tyler, please," Maliah said, almost begging. Her voice was weak and she was breathing heavily. I looked down at her and saw the tears in her eyes, "You're high on adrenaline and you aren't thinking straight, please don't."

She was crying now. I had never seen her cry this hard, and I didn't like it at all. I didn't even notice that I'd pulled Dynami out until it clattered to the floor of the boat. I wrapped both of my arms around Maliah, gently. I held her in the embrace and tried to calm myself down. I looked at Brandon, and it was obvious that the only thing stopping him was Ellie.

I stared at the blond boy but he looked different now. I didn't see the same evil I saw in his eyes before, I only saw fear, regret, pain. He looked murderous before, but now he looked like he couldn't even hurt a fly.

My eyes landed on the brown haired boy, the one who saved Maliah.

"Who are you?" I ask him.

"My name is Perry." he says, staring at me.

"Thank you for helping us, but why'd you do it?" I ask him, confused.

He takes a deep breath, "My brother, Harvey, he was under a spell. We're children of Hecate. She did a spell for Medusa, for a price, but she never saw Harvey's face. She didn't know it was him."

I stared at him, searching for a lie in his story but he seemed genuine.

"Well, considering we're somewhere in the Atlantic, as long as no one tries to kill anyone you two can stay."

"Thank you." Perry says.

It's quiet again until Maliah whimpers, clutching her side. I lift her up, "We need to get her medical treatment."

"But who's going to be able to do that? We don't have anyone-"

"Oh yes, you do."

There's a blinding flash of light and I turn around to find a man with blond blue eyes, flashing a bright white smile.

Something you should know about the gods, if they show up it's usually never a good thing. They're also usually up to no good. But the way Apollo delicately handled Maliah, I couldn't bring myself to care why he was brought here. She was whimpering and he was holding her shirt up, examining her side where the deep gash was.

"Why, my young demigod. You certainly have gotten yourself into some trouble. Hold still and I'll get you fixed up." he says.

He hums a soft tune and his hands glow. After a while of humming, he finishes and removes his hands. Where Maliah's gash used to be just mere seconds ago, there was nothing but flesh.

Maliah looked up at him, amazed, "Thank you, Lord Apollo."

"You're welcome. You know, Maliah Blake, with your strength, beauty and grace, it's hard for me to imagine how you've kept yourself out of trouble as long as you did. Are you sure you're feeling okay?" he asked her.

"Yeah, I feel a lot better now, thank you."

"Do you want to tell me what happened back there? With Medusa. You sliced her in half with an air current." he said.

She got sheepish, her face turning red, "I'm not sure. Sometimes I just get scared or upset and bad things happen."

"What did you feel when you hit her, fear?" he asks.

"Yes."

He looks at her, nodding.

"Maliah, are you sure you're okay?" Brandon asks.

"Yes, you don't have to baby me." she reassures.

"Yes, I do. We're going to talk to dad when this is over. You can't go on this other quest. It's too dangerous."

"I can handle myself," she says, slightly upset.

"No, you can't. You almost got yourself killed. I'm talking to dad and that's final."

"No you're not!" She screamed, blasting Brandon through the boat.

Her eyes were glowing that bright blue shade again, and this time I knew I wasn't the only one who noticed.


	14. XIV

Secrets

That wasn't it. Maliah was still upset and I could tell by all of the currents in the room. She was manifesting whatever air was in here into her own currents and soon, it was getting hard for me to breathe. I felt like all of the air was leaving my lungs and I yelled, as best I could, for everyone to follow me. We jumped through the hole that Brandon's body had made and landed in the ocean. Brandon had been floating above us, gathering himself.

I surrounded those of us in the water with an air bubble.

"What's wrong with Maliah?" Jake asks, catching his breath.

"She got really upset. We just need to give her a little while to calm down." I answered.

No one responded. I floated us back up to the surface of the ocean, slowly, and everyone had their own conversations. The Hecate brothers spoke in hushed whispers that no one payed attention to, and Ellie and Katelynn expressed their concern for Maliah.

"There's a trap door right over there." Ellie pointed out as we reached the surface.

We swam to it and she opened it, one by one we all went in. Brandon had even dropped down to go into it with us. We were in the ships basement and we made our way back up, back to the main room of the ship where we'd left Maliah and the sun god. As we got closer I heard her crying and talking. I stepped forward and saw her kneeling on her ground, head in her hands, while the god before her comforted her.

I held my hand up and stopped everyone. I didn't want to intrude on them, not now.

"It's okay, daughter of Zeus." Apollo told her, doing his best to comfort her.

"No it's not. I almost killed them. I'm a monster," she said in between tears.

"You aren't evil," he told her, "you're setting off to kill evil. You are just so overwhelmingly powerful that you just don't know how to control it, yet. But you will."

"If I'm so powerful, I should be able to control it. You saw me! You saw what I did. I took all the air out of here in mere seconds. I'm evil. Gods, I bet they all hate me."

I'd now heard enough. I stepped in the room, careful not to startle her.

"Mal, you aren't evil and we don't hate you." I told her, everyone following in behind me.

She heard my voice and looked at me. She stood up and took a few steps to me, but as if she remembered something, she backed away. She was scared she was going to hurt me again. I was shocked, so I took a step forward, reaching out for her.

"No, stop, I might hurt you again and I don't want to do that," she said, her eyes were red and swollen from crying.

I stepped forward quickly and grabbed her wrist, pulling her to me and wrapping her into a hug. She struggled but I held her tight.

"We aren't afraid of you, Mal. I promise. You just get overwhelmed and you struggle. It could happen to any of us. We're going to help you. I promise."

She starts crying again, hugging me back. Brandon walks over to us and rubs her back. She looks up, seeing him, and hugs him tightly. She apologizes over and over to him and he just holds her, telling her its okay, telling her that he understands.

He tells her that he loves her.

She cries harder and for a minute, no one really talks to each other. After everything calms down, Apollo speaks up, "Well I hate to interrupt but I really must tell you all why I'm here."

"It wasn't to help Maliah?" Jake asks.

"Nope. That and comforting the young demigod were bonuses." he grins.

"Then why are you really here?" Katelynn asks.

"I have to talk to these two young demigods about the quests that they'll embark on once this one is done. If they survive." he says.

"They have other quests after this?" Brandon asks.

"Yes, and I really can't waste anymore time. All of you remove Maliah and bring her back when I'm done with Tyler. It won't take too long," soon they all leave and he turns to me. "You have an interesting group of friends."

"Yeah, I do." I say, grinning, "What about my sister? My quest?"

"Ah, here are some papers and a few other things to get you started and help you find her. She lives in America but she travels a lot. Poseidon has said that you have until next summer to get her to camp, but I think you and I both know it'd be in her best interest if you got her to camp before she was claimed."

I nod. I'd already thought about that a hundred times.

"Yeah, what are you getting at?" I ask.

"You're to leave the night you get back. You won't be able to tell anyone that you're leaving because they won't be able to go with you. They think they're going to help you, but this is something you must do on your own. The only other living thing you'll be taking with you is River, that horse of yours."

"Hey, only I can call River a horse." I interject.

"Okay, okay," the god chuckles, "but do you understand what I'm telling you?"

"Yes. I have to leave without saying goodbye. How difficult can that be?"

Even I didn't believe myself, and something tells me the god knew that.

"You can say that now, demigod, but it's easier said than done."

I ignored him, "Is that it?"

"No, one more thing. Two gifts. One from your father, and one from me."

He hands me two packages wrapped up.

"What are these for? This quest or the next?" I ask.

"That's for you to decide. Leave and send in Maliah. Good luck, demigod."

I walk out and meet the group outside, I walk over to Maliah, telling her it's her turn. She nods and disappears into the room with the sun god.

"What did he tell you?" Jase asks.

"Nothing I didn't already know." I lied.

It had taken Maliah over two hours with her meeting with Apollo. When she returned, I noticed she had another necklace aside from the diamond her dad gave her. The one she had now was a chain choker with one simple ring made out of gold. It resembled a wedding band, almost, aside from the Greek markings on it. I raised my eyebrow in question, but she sent me a look that said "don't ask."

"So," Ellie began, "who's hungry?"

There were a lot of mumbles of agreement. Before we had time to do anything, another man appeared. This one was tall with white blonde hair and red eyes. Ellie's face went red immediately.

"Prometheus." Brandon says at the same time Ellie says, "Dad?"

"Dad?" I ask.

"Daughter," the man responds with a smile.


	15. XV

Maliah's Side

"I'm sorry," Brandon says, "daughter?"

Ellie sighs and her body bursts into flame. After a minute, it dies down, "Yes, I'm a demititan. It's true."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Katelynn asks, almost angry.

"Because this is how you'd react. You guys hate titans." Ellie said, upset.

"Ellie!" Katelynn screamed, "I'm not upset because your dad is a titan. I'm pissed off because you lied to us. You could have told us."

She turned on her heels and stormed out, I assumed to her room. There are tears in Ellie's eyes and Prometheus awkwardly rubs her back, "I'm sorry for coming at this time."

"Why are you here?" Maliah asks, confused.

"Ah, little girl of Zeus. I'm actually here to tell you that I've chosen your side on the war," he says, proudly as he kneels before her.

"My side? Of the war? What war? Why are you kneeling? Get back up! I'm so confused," Maliah says, rambling.

I noticed it was a trait that both she and Brandon shared when they were nervous. They just couldn't help it, they'd start rambling on and on. I also noticed that the titan did what she said, and stood up again.

"The war between you and that goddess, Melanie. There will be a war. You will be a leader. You will be victorious. It's your destiny," he said, as a matter of fact.

"Yes. It is my accepted destiny to kill her, one that I still don't even fully understand, but I am not a leader of this war. The gods are," she responds.

"They will fight in the war, yes, that's true. But they are no leaders in it, I promise you. Apollo told you your quest, did he not?"

"Wait, okay," Brandon says, "I have questions. One, what do you want with my sister? Two, why aren't the gods just killing you? Three, why did Hephaestus help Ellie? Four, why did you choose Maliah's side? And Five, please tell me you're not staying here."

"Well, the gods aren't "killing" me," he said with air quotations, "because I chose this side of the war, which is also why Hephaestus helped me by claiming Ellie. The camp children and directors would never allow her to live in peace if they knew that she was my daughter. Children are awful, I'm sure you know that . Yes, I will be staying as I wish to serve your sister and make myself useful. It's the least I could do as the gods have helped me so much, and serving such a young, powerful demigod is hardly a punishment. Why did I choose this side of the war? Your sister is powerful. The entire prophecy tells of eight amazingly powerful demigods, but she holds this massive amount in her. It's her birth right as the first daughter and fourth born of the Big Three. With the weapons your sister has been given, Melanie will be defeated. Though I make it sound easy, and it will be difficult, it will happen. Apollo has foreseen it."

"Why me?" Maliah asks, sinking down.

"My dear girl, it's just your destiny. You are destined to do amazing things, little girl of Zeus, and this is only the beginning."

It's quiet.

"Ellie," Prometheus says, "did you mention food?"

Lunch time with demigods, demititans and actually, er, titans was something that, with even all I've seen, I couldn't really comprehend. I think everyone felt awkward and uneasy but they all tried to play it off with emotionless laughter and small jokes here and there. Truth be told, none of us felt comfortable, Maliah being the oddest one out. She sat at the head of the table, as instructed by her new minion. She was looking down at her food, pizza from the oven and a side of fries, and didn't really say anything to any of us.

I was seated on the end with her, on her right side and the closest on my side to her. Brandon was across from me with Ellie to his left and Katelynn across from her. The twins were seated next, across from each other, then the Hecate brothers. At the opposite end, the other head of the table was Prometheus, eyeing Maliah rather worriedly. As odd as he was, and he was odd, I truly believed he cared about her. He was concerned about her, and he would glance at Ellie ever so casually with that same look of worry.

I could see why. Ellie had been silently crying for what seemed like forever. When we'd come to the kitchen, ready to have our lunch, she tried to talk to Katelynn. Katelynn just ignored her, coldly. I understood both of them, and I hated myself for it because now I was in the middle. Brandon hadn't even spoken to Ellie except for once, a few minutes before we'd come to eat.

"I'm not mad that you're a demititan, you're still Ellie, you're still my Ellie. But I can't get over the fact that you lied to me, El. After everything, everything we've been through. After everything you know about me, the things you forced out of me, Ellie, you lied. You lied to Katie. You lied to me," he had told her in a hushed voice. I hadn't meant to eavesdrop but I couldn't turn off my ears. That was when she started crying again, "I love you. I always love you. But I'm hurt and I need time. Katie needs time. You can't force it. We have to mend and we have to be okay with the knowledge of the lies before we can all be okay again. You have to understand."

"But where does that leave us?" she'd asked him.

He never responded to her, but even now he put a hand on her shoulder, comforting her. Even though he was hurt and angry, he still wanted to be there for her. He wanted her to know he still cared. I admired Brandon. I don't think I'd ever told him that, maybe I never would, but he was so fair, so admirable. He was an honorable guy, and his entire world was up in flames now. He had way too much on his plate, and knowing what his girlfriend and his sister also had to handle, well I couldn't imagine it was easy.

"So, little girl of Zeus," Prometheus says, breaking the silence, "have you learned what Apollo's gift to you is?"

Maliah looks up and she fiddles with the golden ring latching on her choker, "He didn't tell me and with you showing up, I haven't really had the opportunity to figure it out."

There was something bitter in her voice that I wasn't used to. She wouldn't meet my eyes. She felt how we all felt, like Prometheus came here and ruined something. In a way, he did. No matter how pure his intentions were, with this information none of us were ever going to be the same again. His daughter would never be the same. He'd ruined everything for her and I think that's what made me angry the most.

"Ah," he said, slicing through the tension with his stern monotone voice, "maybe later."

"Maybe." she agreed, but her mind was elsewhere, "Could you tell me what it is?"

The titan raised an eyebrow at her, "Why don't you arm it and see? Or does that make all of this too real?"

She doesn't say anything. She looks down and won't meet his eyes.

"I-"

His eyes show sympathy as he cuts her off, "I can tell you it's very ancient, little girl of Zeus. Ancient but yet new. Apollo created this weapon long, long ago and stored it away until a worthy hero came to claim it. That's all I can tell you for now, but you'll understand one day."

"He says I can't train with it, yet. Why'd he give it to me now?" she asked, almost defeated.

"If I recall, he said you'd know when the time is right. He gave you his blessing, did he not?"

"Yes."

"Then, you'll know, little girl of Zeus."

It got quiet for a while. No one moved other than to eat their food. Next to me, Katelynn was shaking. Her leg moved violently against mine, and she was... angry. I hated to say it, but she was writhing in rage. She stayed quiet, her knuckles white in her clenched fist. I could tell she was still upset about the information we'd been given and that Prometheus voice wasn't helping her calm down one bit.

I'd never seen a daughter of Aphrodite enraged. After this, I was sure I never wanted to again.

"We need training." Brandon said, cutting through another wave of awkward silence.

"Yes, brother of little girl of Zeus. You do." Prometheus agreed.

I don't think Brandon liked his new title. I could tell by how taken aback he was and the face he was making. He mouthed the words over again, as if he couldn't believe they'd just left the titan's mouth.

"So," Maliah began, "you'll train us, then?"

Now it was Prometheus who was stunned.

"I," he paused, "is that what you want?"

"Yes. It is. We need to be stronger or we don't stand a chance bringing Tony home safely, and I made a promise. I don't break my promises."

He nodded, "Very well then. We start immediately after lunch."

No one had any objections. Maliah was right. We weren't ready for this, at all. If we continued on this quest without any training, we'd be clobbered and Tony would suffer the most for it. The twins and I had never even had any training. We wouldn't stand a chance.

"Can I ask you something?" I ask the titan, catching his attention.

"Sure, son of the sea."

I liked that one, a little more than I cared to admit. It was a lot better than Brandon's, that's for sure.

"How are you so sure of Apollo's prophecy. How are you sure we're going to win?" I ask.

"Apollo sees mostly everything, demigod. I believe in his prophecy because it's already happening, right in front of me. Everything that he could tell me, I've witnessed thus far. He's not serious, not like the others, but he's right about this. The things he's said about the ten of you, I believe all of it."

"Ten?" Katelynn asked.

"Yes. You eight, then two more yet to be discovered."

"Apollo said eight." I told him.

"Because that was all he was allowed to tell you."

"So we're no where close to where we need to be." Harvey sighs.

"No, and from the looks of it, it's going to take a lot." the titan says.

"Excuse me? What's that supposed to mean?" he snaps back.

"Just look at yourselves. You couldn't slice your way out of a paper bag. None of you."

"That's enough!" Katelynn snapped, taking offense.

"Do you disagree? Tell me, child of love, do you even think you're capable of completing this small quest before you let alone the biggest one in your life time?"

"Small quest?" she asks, huffing in disbelief, "You think Tony's life is a small quest?"

"Well," the titan said, as if he were considering it.

That's how the argument started. Everyone was screaming at each other. Ellie had tried to take up for her dad, which in turn caused Katelynn to jump down her throat. Brandon yelled at Katelynn, telling her to cut Ellie some slack. Ellie was in tears, again. Maliah was screaming at Prometheus, blaming him for ruining everything. Prometheus was yelling at the twins. The twins were yelling at Harvey. Other than me, Perry was the only one who kept his mouth shut. I'm pretty sure he was just mute, though.

Suddenly a slice of pizza is thrown and the kitchen goes ablaze for the second time in one day.


	16. XVI

The Crow

It took us about an hour to stop the fire, calm down and repair the kitchen. Calming everyone down is what took the longest. Katelynn had finally stopped shaking after the argument, I guess getting all of the energy out. After, she cried. She still refused to talk to Ellie, though. I had a feeling their friendship would never be the same.

Everyone was so upset and so fragile right now, it was hard to talk without someone exploding. We were all carefully dancing over what to say and choosing our words wisely. Even Prometheus stopped talking after Maliah yelled at him to shut up until she told him otherwise.

This entire quest was now a nightmare.

"Okay," Maliah said, calming down, "let's go put our emotions to good use and train, yes?"

No one disagreed with her. She nodded her head and we all followed her out to the deck of the ship.

"I want a group training course led by Prometheus at first. Teach us as a whole basic stances, offensive attack, defensive moves, and everything else we should know. Then once I'm comfortable with everyone's progress, we'll break into pairs. After that, we'll each train with Prometheus one on one. It's going to be a long day and if it goes well, it's only the beginning until we find Tony."

As much as Maliah would sit here and tell everyone that she's no leader in this war, she was a natural leader. She was smart and radiated a power that told you to sit down, shut up, and listen. No one disagreed with her plan, but why would we? It was well calculated and it would be the best way for us to see the quickest results. We all unsheathed our swords, Dynami resting comfortably in my hand.

Maliah's own weapon, a three foot long Greek sword made of Olympian gold, was a one of a kind. It could kill anything, and I mean kill anything. It was a gift from her father for one task, to strike down the evil goddess. It shined blindingly in the sun, but if she noticed I couldn't tell.

"You can talk now." Maliah told Prometheus.

"Right," the titan said, "let us begin."

After a while of going over the basics with the titan, like simple offensive and defensive movements, disarming attacks, and a few stances, Maliah decided we were ready to break off into groups.

The twins paired up together, as did the Hecate brothers. Ellie and Brandon paired up and that left Katelynn, Maliah and me. I looked between them and the titan approached.

"Come, daughter of love. We'll train. You have much to prepare yourself," he told her, softly.

Katelynn nodded and went off with the titan. I had no idea what he'd meant, and from Maliah's expression she had no clue, either. She came over to me, though, a sheepish smile on her face.

He hair looked redder now, out here in the low setting sun. Depending on the lighting, it was blonder or it was redder, always changing with what reflected off of it. Her curls were long, past her waist. I thought, again, back to last night in her room. Our oath.

"Wanna train?" she asked.

"Hate to break it to you, but it looks like I'm all you have left." I laugh.

She laughs with me. It's nice to hear that sound again.

"Well, hopefully you're a worthy opponent."

"Likewise."

We take a stance and she strikes first, but I'm not surprised. I raise my blade to meet her, blocking her sword. It almost seemed to glow now, in this light. She pulled her sword back and I did the same, this time I struck. She blocked and twisted her sword, almost disarming me. I was able to grip my sword just in time before completely losing it, but she didn't hesitate in swinging again.

"You know," she began in between blows, "I never imagined I'd be fighting you."

"What do you mean? This is only sparring." I remind her, matching her timing.

She'd taken completely to the offense, so I had no choice but to match her by blocking. She was so swift, it was like she'd been doing this forever.

"That's true," she agreed, "but it's still weird. It still feels wrong. How do I know that one day this won't happen for real."

I hesitate at her words and she disarms me, her blade to my neck.

"It won't." I assure her.

She drops her sword.

"I'm sorry. I don't know why I'm thinking like that. It's just everyone is choosing sides and I'm scared, Tyler. What if people I know choose her. What if I have to hurt someone I care about?"

"It won't be me." I tell her.

The hilt of her sword, navy with a yellow bolt of lightning, was gripped tightly in her hand. I knew what she was thinking. That sword wasn't old. It hadn't been passed down from hero to hero. She was the first owner, and she'd be the first to spill blood with it. I think that terrified her.

"Dunamas," she said.

"Huh?" I ask, confused.

"It's name. It's name is Dunamas."

I stared at the sword, taking in the power it held. It held the fate of so much, and it was in the hands of someone I'd grown to care a lot about. It may have been new and it may not have had a history yet, but something told me that when all this was over, Dunamas would have the most bloody history of all.

"Do you think about them?" she asked me, softly.

I looked around and noticed everyone was departing back down. We were all tired after the vigorous training, I think we all needed a break.

"Who?" I ask her, letting Dynami return to a necklace and putting it back on.

"The Lost Generation. Our siblings, their friends. Your mortal mother. Everyone back at camp. Everyone on this boat. The mortals. Tony. Your sister. All of the many lives that depend on us. Do you think about them?"

She's looking up at me now, her vibrant blue eyes searching my face for an answer. She still holds her sword in her hand, and I think it's because she's scared to put it away, scared to relinquish the power it gives her. I think about the dream I'd had last night of my brother. I thought for sure he would tell me to come straight for him, to rescue him, but he told me that I needed to save Tony.

I remember reading Brandon's research and one thing it said about Percy Jackson was that his fatal flaw, something all of us demigods apparently possess, was loyalty. His loyalty to his lost friend, Nico, must have something to do with this. I was worried about Tony's condition, it surely had to be bad for my brother to sound so urgent.

She's still staring at me.

"I do." I tell her.

She sighs, looking up at the sky. I study her. She practically glows in the light, her loose curls moving ever so slightly with the wind. She's sweaty from training, and her chest moves heavily as she trains her breath, still tired from training. She looks back at me.

"Will you stay with me again tonight?" she adds, "I still feel uneasy here."

"Of course."

I smile at her, and she smiles back. The oath we'd made lingers in my mind and she reaches up, fixing a piece of my hair that I'd guess gone astray. Before I can even thank her, a large crow swoops down, slicing her arm and drawing blood with its sharp claws. She hisses in pain, Dunamas clattering to the ground. She held her arm, and with a caw the crow was gone just as quick as it'd come.

"Are you okay?" I ask her.

"Yeah, it just stings a little. Where did that thing even come from?" she asks.

"I have no idea. I think we've had enough training for today. Let's get some food and then rest. Are you sure it's fine?"

"Yeah. I should be okay."

She didn't seem so sure. She looked at her arm, still confused by the events, but I usher her back below the deck and to the kitchen where everyone else is. She's no longer bleeding when we make it there, in fact there isn't even a trace of evidence left.

After we'd eaten, everyone was ready to turn in for the night. Maliah and I were no different so we headed back to her room after saying our goodnight's to everyone. Once we reached her room, she grabbed a change of clothes and went into the bathroom. I could hear the shower running and figured she'd be gone for a minute so I relaxed, sitting on a chair.

I thought back to my dream of my brother. I had to save Tony now more than ever. Percy Jackson needed me to save him. I couldn't let him down, not now. I thought about everything I'd gone through since finding out I was a demigod, and so far I had done nothing worthy of praise. I was just as lost as everyone else was. We were just kids.

Maybe by some lucky chance, we'd pull this off. But then what? Where do we go from here? I have my quest, but when that's done, what do I do?

Maliah pulls me out of my thoughts. She walks into the room, her hair soaking her red t-shirt. She wore black leggings and nothing on her feet. She smiles at me. I could get used to her smile.

"You go ahead," she says, combing through her tangled hair, "I'll be waiting when you come out."

I nodded and got up, grabbing my own change of clothes. I went into the bathroom and started my own shower. Even in here, I couldn't escape the thought of my brother. I thought of Tony, too, a faceless boy that I didn't know. After a while of my thoughts eating me away, I finished up and got dressed.

When I walked back into the room, I found Maliah wrapped up in her blanket and asleep. I could never understand how people as serious as her and Brandon looked so at ease while asleep. I walk over to her, laying down and using the blanket with her this time.

It doesn't take long for me to fall asleep. My dreams lead me to a boy in a round, glass prison. He's unconscious and appears very weak, and starved. His hair is dark, and his skin is pale. He looked... dead. His back moved, though, ever so slightly. He was still alive, but only barely. I knew it was him, I knew it was Tony. I wanted to scream to him, tell him that we were on the way, but I couldn't. He mumbles something. I don't catch it, not even when he mumbles it again.

He looks up, his dark eyes trained on me. He mumbles again and I still don't catch it. I take a step forward and he sighs a deep breath, grunting. He speaks again, and this time I hear him.

"Run."

I wake up in a cold sweat to an empty bed. Maliah isn't beside me, but my sight hasn't fully adjusted to the dark. I look in front of me, and through my blurry vision I see Maliah, her eyes glowing a sickly pale blue. She's holding Dunamas and had it raised over me.

"Run." she says, barely audible.

"Maliah?" I ask.

"Run, Tyler!" she yells, bringing her sword down.

I barely got out of the way in time, the sword nicking my leg. I rolled onto the floor and brought out Dynami just in time to block her next attack.

"Maliah, snap out of it!" I scream at her.

"Run, Tyler, I can't stop."

She was crying. She had just told me how much she hated fighting me, and here we were.

"Mal," I say, once again taking the defense in our fight, "wake up!"

"Stop her, Tyler. Stop her and save me. Help me." she begged, crying as she attacked me.

"Help! Someone help us!" I screamed, "Harvey!"

After screaming for both Perry and Harvey a few more times, they finally show up.

"What is it?" Harvey asked, tired.

"Duck!" I scream, knocking him and Perry out of the way.

"She's possessed." Harvey notes.

"Oh, well what gave that away? The eyes? The zombie like movement? Maybe the fact that she's trying to freakin' kill us?" I snap.

"I can see how you're upset," Perry begins, his voice almost foreign to my ears.

"Perry, shut up and help me!" Harvey snaps.

I hadn't noticed, but he'd been chanting words in ancient Greek and making weird hand signs, slow at first and then gradually speeding up. Perry ignores me, and picks up with where his brother is at. Their chants and hands both speed up with every repetition until, finally, Maliah stopped mid-swing at Harvey's neck. Her eyes stopped glowing, then shut and she fell forward. I reached forward and caught her, holding her.

"What the hell was that? How did she get a spell like that?" I ask.

They're quiet.

"You know something," I say, "tell me."

"It could have been anyone," Harvey starts.

"But?" I ask.

"But, it was more than likely our mother." he said, shame in his voice.


	17. XVII

There's Always a Secret

I was so angry that I couldn't even begin to describe it. From the very moment they'd come on our ship, I knew I didn't like Perry all that much. He was secretive, quiet, and not to mention he'd tried to kill Maliah. Harvey, though, hadn't seemed all that bad. He helped us. He stopped the spell on his brother, and we were kind to him. But I had never wanted to attack someone more than I'd wanted to, now.

It happened before I even recognized it, I had punched Harvey in the jaw. He stared at me, anger in his eyes, and Perry glared at me. I'd never hit anyone before. I wasn't really much of a violent person, but this entire situation had my blood boiling. Perry didn't say anything and Harvey didn't hit me back. He had stepped forward like he was going to, but he glanced down and then backed away. That's when I noticed I was still holding Maliah.

I realized how unfair that was. He wouldn't hit me while I was holding her unconscious in my arms. So, I lifted her and handed her to Perry.

"Go ahead," I say, walking closer to him, "hit me. You obviously want to, and I've made it clear how I feel. Hit me, Harvey."

"I'm not going to hit you." he said through clenched teeth.

I sized Harvey up and it occurred to me. The brothers were the oldest people here. I didn't even think about that when I resorted to picking a fight with Harvey, but even now I didn't care. I wanted him to hit me.

"Why not?" I ask.

"Because she wouldn't want me to." he said, pushing past me to Perry and Maliah.

"Leave her out of this. You're the reason she was cursed. I bet that was the plan all along. Get close to her and help your sick mom out." I snap.

"No!" he yells, turning back to me and shoving me, "Do you think I wanted her to get hurt? I hate to break it to you, kid, but our godly parents barely give a damn about us, let alone our siblings from other parents. We're just as shocked and upset as you are."

"Siblings?" I ask, calming down and breathing deep.

"Yes, you moron," he says, "siblings. Her stepdad is our biological father, making us step siblings."

All of my adrenaline gave out, and I collapsed on the bed. Perry was still holding Maliah and Harvey was still staring at me. His glare softened, though, and he calmed down as well. I thought that before Brandon came along, Maliah didn't have any other siblings. Perry held her bridal style and sat beside me. Harvey joined, after calming down, and sat on my other side.

The sun was rising now, casting a bright glow on all of us. The tension in the air was slowly dissipating and Maliah's eyes fluttered open. They land on me with concern and she slowly untangles herself from Perry and drops in front of me, reaching for my shoulder. I flinch back. I always thought of fond memories every time I saw her, like the day we found her. I used to think of the day in the pool, or yesterday, our oath.

But now the only thing I can think of is her sword raised over my head, begging me to save her life while she tried to take away mine. I notice the hurt in her eyes and I remember telling myself to never be scared of her, that I told myself I wouldn't be. I sigh.

"I'm sorry," I say, "I- you were possessed."

"Possessed? How?" she asks, standing and taking a step away from us, looking at her hands.

Dunamas had gone back to a necklace and magically reappeared around her neck. She touched it gently, as if she were afraid it would form into a sword on its own.

"We believe it was Hecate." Harvey says.

Still looking at her hands, she mumbles "Oh, I see. I'm so sorry. I'm glad I didn't really hurt any of you."

I felt awful, now. She didn't jump to blaming them, not the way that I had. I turned to Harvey, to say something but Maliah took my attention. She gasped, jumping back.

"My gods, Harvey, where did that bruise come from? I didn't do it, did I?" she asks, tears forming in her eyes. She reached out and touched him, causing him to wince in pain but he didn't snatch away from her.

I felt awful.

"It's not important, Maliah. Right now we just have to worry about how Hecate got your blood. It's the only way she would be able to do this type of spell." he told her.

She nodded but she didn't seem convinced. I really hated myself right now.

"Okay," she agreed.

"Were you cut by anything today?" Perry asked her.

My eyes widen as I remember the crow that scratched her yesterday. Why didn't I think of that sooner?

"The crow, Mal. The one that scratched you." I say.

Her eyes widen in recognition and she touches her arm where the claws had struck her. There was nothing there, though, no evidence at all.

"That's her sacred bird. We have to find that bird and kill it. Once it scratches you, it trades your blood for an elixir." Harvey said.

"Elixir?" she asks.

"Yeah. She makes an elixir, the crow dips it's claws into it and it tracks the target, you, down. It finds you, scratches you, and trades for your blood. It then flies back to her on the island and bathes in that elixir, absorbing it all into it's skin. It's eyes then change to the color of yours and whenever she wants, she can use that crow to possess you. The only way to break the spell completely is by killing the crow. The crow will be protected."

"Well," she said, "it's settled then."

"What is?" Perry asks. I

"We're killing that crow."

They exchange a look and then look back at her. Harvey takes a deep breath.

"Maliah," he begins, "we should have told you sooner. We're your brothers."

I always imagined Iris Messages between a demigod and their mortal parent to be a nice, happy reunion full of love. That was not the case at all with Maliah. She held both of her stepbrothers by an ear and glared angrily at her mother and stepfather. Their parents looked between the three of them, apologetically but it did nothing to calm Maliah's nerves. By this time, everyone on the ship had learned the truth because Maliah had been screaming so loud.

"We were going to tell you, hon, we were, but-" her mom began.

"When?" Maliah snapped, "You had plenty of opportunities to tell me. I thought I was all alone, mom. I went through so much by myself, thinking I had no one I could relate to or to be there for me."

"Honey," her stepdad said, changing the subject, "your hair has gotten so long!"

"Stop trying to change the subject, Jerry! You lied to me. You both lied about this. I had no idea they existed. How did you think I would feel when you finally decided to tell me?"

She was so angry she was starting to lose control again. The air in the room thickened, whisking around us. I heard the thunder clap outside and her eyes glowed a faint blue.

"Honey, calm down." her mom pressured.

"This is calm!" she snapped, the wind forming and shooting through a window.

I don't know if I've ever mentioned how scary Brandon is. I'm sure I have, but say I didn't. Well, Brandon is scary. Maliah, on the other hand, is like twelve times scarier than her older brother.

"Mal, come on. Breathe a little. They kept you apart to protect you. Keeping all three of you together would have been super dangerous for all of you. You know that." I told her, placing my hand on her shoulder.

She lets go of her brothers and turns to me with sad eyes. She leans into me, hugging me and I hug her back.

"I want all of the lies to stop." she says, and I can tell she's crying.

"I know, Mal. It was for your protection, though." I say, trying to make her feel better.

"That doesn't make it hurt any less." she says.

She didn't say anything, she just cried and I held her. Her parents said nothing, they just waved a weak goodbye and ended the IM.

After all of the excitement calmed down and Maliah felt better, we'd eaten and then continued our training with Prometheus. After a few one on ones with him, he announced to us that he knew where Hecate's hideout was.

"It's a little island not too far from here. It'll take us about two days travel but it doesn't steer too far off of our course to Greece." he told us.

Today was only our third day at sea, I think we could manage the stop.

"So we just have to stay alive for two more days?" Jake asks.

"Perry and I have a plan." Harvey says, "I hate that we have to do it, but Perry can ward Maliah's room, sealing her in until we get to the island and can break the curse. She can take possession of Maliah at any time she wants, so it's honestly our only hope."

Perry produces a small knife and says a short, quiet chant over it. He walks over to Maliah.

"Can I have your hand, please?" he asks her.

I look at Harvey.

"He's better at curses and wards," he informs me.

I pretend that I understand and I look back at Maliah. She hands him her palm and he slides the knife smoothly across her skin, breaking it in a thin red line. She never even winced. She stared at her hand, with a kind of sad look in her eyes like she couldn't believe it'd come down to this.

"Now what?" she asks.

"Well," Harvey says, "Perry just has to stab the knife in front of the door when you're ready and you're sealed in. Anyone in the room is sealed in until it's over."

No one really said anything for a minute. Maliah just nodded and led everyone to here room. She went inside and I followed her. She looked so sad, being isolated like this. I thought of our oath again, and though it didn't really count as protecting her, I didn't want to leave her alone, either. I notice that she's crying and I pull her into a hug again.

"Tyler, come on." Harvey said, calmly.

"No, it's okay. I'm going to stay in here with her." I inform them.

"No, Tyler," Maliah says, looking up, "go with them. It's okay, really."

"No it's not. I'm not going to let you be alone. Seal the ward, I'm good."

Perry nods and and stabs the knife into the floor. It glows a bright blue, and then stops, returning to normal. Perry shuts the door and as if the knife isn't there, the door passes straight through it.

"Why did you do that?" she asks me, her tears slowly stopping.

"I wasn't going to leave you by yourself. So what do you want to do?" I ask her, changing the subject.

She buries her head into my chest, not moving. Of every moment we ever spent together, this one was different. This time, I was nervous. I wasn't so sure of myself anymore. I just knew that there was this girl and that I cared about her, but did I really know to what extent?

"Thank you, Tyler," she said, pushing herself further into me.

I remember when I first hugged her, in my cabin. She'd been crying then, too, but at that time she never hugged me back. This time, it was I who couldn't bring my arms to return the gesture. This time, I was the one who was overwhelmed.


	18. XVIII

How I Met Your Tony

We stayed up talking last night, I didn't even know when we fell asleep. She told me how scared she was, how now she could remember what it felt like being helpless and forced to do things that she didn't want to do. She told me that not having control over her body was the scariest thing to ever happen to her so far.

I look down at her still sleeping form, only last night she didn't bury herself in the blanket. She buried herself in me. Even now, her head was resting on me, her arm draped over my side. I held her lightly, kind of scared to touch her too much. I remember how nervous I felt, but how nice it was to hold her. She talked to me, content in her position, for hours.

She told me more about her family, assuring me that she didn't feel too angry with them about hiding her brothers from her. I told her about my mom, about how much I missed her and how I couldn't wait to see her. Maliah then told me about how much she wanted a puppy, but her parents just never had the time to take her to find one. I told her about how I'd never thought about having a pet, I'd always just been content with the twins. She laughed at that.

Her laughing at my jokes made my face red, now.

She told me how she's scared that she won't be able to balance school and her training this term, but how she's going to give it her best. I told her I had nothing but faith in her. She mentioned to me, casually, that she wants to be a nurse, or a surgeon, or someone in the justice department, if she lives that long. She says she wants to help people, no matter how.

I remember agreeing with her.

I'm staring at her again when I hear a knock on the door. Harvey opens it, holding two plates of food and two cans of soda. He walks straight through the door and into the room.

"Breakfast is ready." he announces.

I stare at him, confused.

"How'd you do that? I thought we were sealed in." I say.

"You are. The rest of us, however, can come and go as we please. We told you to stay on our side." he said, shrugging his shoulder.

I think about it for a minute and realize that taking the stand that I did with Maliah was the best choice. Sure, I would have been able to stay with her just like I had last night, but putting myself in the same category as her so she wasn't singled out was what made her feel better. It made her feel like less of the problem. I was perfectly fine with my choice and I'd make it again.

"Eh, it's okay. I'm happy with the choice I made," I inform him.

"Well, that's good." he says.

"But," I add, "if I wanted, couldn't I just rip the knife out and leave?"

He laughs.

"No. If you touch it for more than a few seconds you'll burst into flames. Only a child of Hecate can remove it. You're stuck here until we get to the island."

"Oh. I guess it's not as stupid as I thought, then."

"Oh, shut up before I take away your food privileges," he says, standing and walking to the door.

After a minute, he's gone. I turn to Maliah and lightly shake her. She woke up, her eyes landing on the food. She doesn't say anything, she just eats. I follow her lead and do the same. I looked at her again. She looked sad and scared. I keep wondering how she can just push through everything that's happened to her so far. How has she not snapped? I realized that most of the people on this ship were going to be scared of her until this curse went away. Sure, I'm stuck in here with her, but in that sense she's completely alone. I realize that I've lost my appetite halfway through my meal.

"Do you want the rest of mine?" I ask her, even though she's not even done with her own plate.

"No, thank you. I really don't eat a lot when I wake up," she says.

I remember her mentioning that to me at some point last night. It just kind of all jumbled together at this point. I place my hand on her back and rub it lightly. She leans into me, resting her head on my shoulder. We stay like this in the silence. It was nice. I wondered what she was thinking about. I wondered how scared she truly was knowing that she was currently a tool to distract and kill her friends and family. If I were her, I would have cried a lot more by now.

There's a knock on the door that drags me out of my thoughts. I've stayed with Maliah so much that at this point, I don't get embarrassed being seen with her like this. We both stay in our position while Maliah calls, telling them to come in. When the door opens, I see a familiar pretty, blonde haired girl.

"Hey, Katelynn," I say.

"I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" she asked, genuinely curious.

Everyone else would have only asked us as a way to tease or embarrass us, but she really cared to know. She didn't want to interrupt something, if that were the case, and embarrass us. It was so hard to picture her how she was when we'd learned about Ellie. She was normally so kind and passive, seeing her angry was like seeing a whole other person.

"No, not at all. We love the company." Maliah assures her.

She smiles and walks in, sitting across from us in the chair. I raise my eyebrow to her.

"What?" she asks.

"I could ask you the same thing." I say.

She sighs, "They're so boring out there. I'm still super upset with Ellie and I told her I'm ready to talk about it, but now that Brandon has completely forgiven her, I'm pushed to the side. It's the same thing every single time. If he's around, I'm just the third wheel. And that's if I'm lucky enough to get noticed. Then there's the Hecate brothers who don't leave their rooms, and all the twins do is mess around in other people's things. Don't even get me started on Prometheus. I've trained and trained until I felt like my arms were going to fall off but now I'm, like, avoiding him because I just can't do it anymore."

I let out a low whistle.

"That's a lot." I say.

"Uh huh." she agrees.

"You could always stay here. We really do love the company." Maliah reminds her.

"Oh. Are you sure? I know that you two share the bed and I wouldn't want to impose."

"Oh, no. We'll figure something out. I promise it's fine." I agree.

She smiles at me, brightly.

"I might consider the offer."

We're all quiet for a minute, a comfortable silence engulfing us. I can't help but wonder about the day of the prophecy, how Katelynn sounded unsure when she heard her line.

"Hey, can I ask you something, Kate?" I ask, breaking the silence.

"Yeah, what's up?" she responds.

"The prophecy, more importantly your part, you said you didn't hate anyone. You didn't sound so sure, though." I tell her.

She doesn't respond at first, but then she takes a breath and looks at me.

"Well, I don't hate him," she begins, "I don't like him. I just- I'm pretty sure he hates me. But I owe him my life."

"Who?" I ask her.

"Tony."

I look at her, watching the sadness enter her eyes.

"Why?"

"There was a time before camp when I knew Tony. We were in the same elementary school and we'd been best friends. Even back then, he was awful at making friends but I was so outgoing I kind of forced my friendship on him. He hated it at first, but then he grew to care about me as much as I did him. I left for a year and when I came back for middle school, he wouldn't even look at me. I had come back and made more friends than before I'd left. I guess I was sort of popular and I just always believed that was the reason. Maybe he didn't like my friends. But I kept trying. I just thought it would be so nice to hear his voice again for the first time since being back, so I went up to him and I tried to talk to him. He looked at me and told me he never wanted to talk to me again, so I should just leave him alone, and-" she pauses, a small smile on her lips and a tear falls down her cheek,

"he told me to leave him alone and die. I remember one of the guys I knew tried to beat him up, but I told him not to. I told him that some people just didn't like me and it was okay. I chocked it up to a loss and went to class. That was the day we were attacked and taken to camp Half-Blood. I can't swim, never could. Our coach turned into a Cyclops and pushed me into the pool. When I fell in, I heard Tony scream my name for the first time since I'd come back. He jumped in and saved me, even after he said all of that mean stuff to me, he ignored the monster to save my life. John Malack had shown up and killed the monster. We were in the fifth grade, only eleven and John was thirteen. He led us all the way to camp, taking care of us and keeping us safe. That was three years ago, though. We became friends with John but Tony hasn't talked to me since that day. Before John left he told me Tony didn't hate me. I still find it hard to believe, but I owe him my life for saving me that day. I have to repay him."

"I'm so sorry, Kate." Maliah said.

"Why did he ever stop talking to you to begin with?" I ask her.

"I dunno," she says, crying, "I ask myself that a million times throughout the day."

I give her a sad smile and open my arms, "Come on, group hug."

She giggles and accepts the offer, squeezing in between Maliah and me and allowing us to comfort her.

After a minute, Perry walks in. He gives us an odd look, "What in Hades are you doing?"

"Group hug," I answer, "want in on it?"

He scrunches his nose a little, "No thanks, I'll pass. Katelynn, did you have breakfast, yet?"

"Yeah, I did. Thank you," she smiles at him.

"Of course."

Perry turns to leave and I look at the two girls next to me.

"We're going to get you your answers from Tony when we save him, I promise." I tell Katelynn.

She smiles at me and stands up.

"Where you going?" I ask her.

"To get my sleeping bag, I think I'll take you guys up on your offer."

With that, she's out the door.


	19. XIX

A Warning of Hatred

I'm shaken awake by Katelynn while she screams my name. I don't understand why until I see Maliah, her eyes that sickly shade of blue and her sword raised over us. I wrapped my arms around Katelynn and push us out of the way just as her sword comes down. I push Katelynn behind me and release Dynami just in time to block Maliah's next attack.

"Run and get help, Kate." I tell her, not taking my eyes off of the girl in front of me.

"Okay," she says and I hear her feet hitting the floor as she leaves.

"Maliah, you have to fight it back!" I yell at her, blocking another attack.

A sick laugh escaped Maliah's throat, and it's not hers. It isn't light and bubbly, it's almost raspy and chaotic. It made me sick hearing it come from her.

"You foolish, foolish demigod. She couldn't fight back anymore if she tried. I'm afraid she's just all worn out," a voice laughs from deep within Maliah.

"Why are you possessing her, Hecate?" I snap, blocking another attack.

Katelynn runs back into the room with Perry and Harvey hot on her trail, "Do something!"

Katelynn is crying, loud sobs racking through her body. Perry gives her a sympathetic look and pulls her into his chest, holding her head there and shielding her from the view. Harvey begins chanting, louder and faster than last night. Perry chants behind him, only softer and with only one hand able to do the same signs as the night before. I knew that Harvey was making up for his brother, now.

"My own sons would dare to do this?" the voice screams from Maliah.

"Shut up." Harvey snaps, then continues his chants.

"Come on," I mumble, "come on."

Maliah screams, an actual scream that sounds like her, and falls forward. She was bleeding. I hadn't noticed but right before Harvey expelled Hecate away, she stabbed herself. Katelynn fought against Perry and turned around, her eyes wide as she gasped.

"Do something!" she screamed, "You can't let her die!"

"Shh," Perry says, "it's okay. We know a few minor healing spells that will help speed up the process. Just breathe."

He was nice to her, so soft spoken. Perry didn't really talk much anyway, but it was clear he had a soft spot for Katelynn. She cried a little more and it made me wonder why she cared so much for Maliah. Sure, we were all friends, but she was the most shaken up by this. I then realized that Maliah wasn't just her friend. To Katelynn, the girl who was cast to the side by her best friend, had finally found a new friend who would pay attention to her, listen to her, and give her advice. Ellie clung on to Katelynn far more now than Katelynn did her. Ellie wasn't Katelynn's best friend. Maliah was.

And letting your best friend die right in front of you wasn't something demigods did so easily.

"Kate, go lay down and get some rest. They're going to heal her." I tell her.

"But-"

"It's okay, just take the bed. When you wake up, Maliah will be okay. I promise." I tell her, "Get some rest, you're exhausted."

She gives me a sad look, but she nods. She gets up, hesitates, but hugs me. I hug her back and then she walks to the bed, lying in it and closing her eyes. It takes the brothers twenty minutes to heal Maliah. They chant together, sweating and struggling, and for twenty straight minutes her wound closed slowly.

"This," Perry paused, struggling, "is taking so-"

"Focus, Perry, she needs us. Absolute focus." Harvey responds.

They both go back to chanting and after a minute, the wound is completely sealed. They both fall forward, holding themselves up and panting.

"Why did it take you so long?" I ask, "And why are you so drained?"

"We did it without the proper plants and herbs. It's almost impossible. Luckily, we're two of the only three children of Hecate who can pull it off." Harvey pants.

"Oh."

I pick up Maliah and the brothers say their goodbyes, staggering to their room. I place Maliah in the bed and crawl into Katelynn's sleeping bag.

"This is only the beginning," a shrill voice hissed in my ears, "I will kill that girl, demigod, and you can't stop me. Mark the words of Melanie, goddess of hatred and death."

I woke up to Maliah and Katelynn screaming. Just as I almost jumped up ready to attack, it was followed by laughter. I stare at them, confused, but they just giggle a little more. Maliah waves me a quick good morning and I return it. After a minute, Brandon walks into the room carrying three plates and three sodas, as though he were a waiter.

Ellie pops her head in behind him and smiles at us. Her eyes land on Katelynn in confusion.

"Kate, why are you in here? Why aren't you hanging out with us?" she asks, in reference to Brandon and herself.

She hadn't meant it in a rude way, either. The sad thing was she actually had no clue why Katelynn wasn't with them.

"I'm not going to be a third wheel anymore, Ellie." Katelynn said, as a matter of fact.

"Third wheel? You're not a third wheel." Ellie says.

"She kind of is, Ellie. You always ignore her when I'm around." Brandon says, coming to Kate's defense. Kate motions to him with her arm and a look on her face that says, see-I-told-you.

"Plus, I'm still not over you lying to me." Katelynn says.

"So we're just not friends anymore, is that it?" Ellie asks, rage in her eyes.

Katelynn sighs, "Right now, I don't know. I know that I'm upset and I need time."

Ellie sighs and storms out. Katelynn looked kind of guilty, but she didn't feel guilty enough to follow Ellie. Brandon sighs and sits the food down, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm proud of you for speaking up about how you felt, Katie. I love Ellie, but even I see that you and Maliah have way more in common. You're both just becoming teenagers, you two can relate more to each other. You figure out how you feel about everything, and in the mean time she'll cool off."

Katelynn nods and Brandon leaves. He really was a great brother. After we finished eating, Prometheus walked into the room.

"Little girl of Zeus," he says, "We're here."

"We're where?" she asks.

"The Island of the Lost."


	20. XX

The Island of the Lost

We all step off of the boat and onto the island. Immediately I see nothing but black crows, all with different colored eyes, perching in the trees calmly. All of these crows represented someone, mortal or demigod or whatever, that Hecate could just tap into and possess at will. My stomach churned.

"What do we do?" I ask.

"Kill them all." Maliah said, "Let's help some other people while we're at it."

"Agreed," Harvey mumbled, looking around in disgust.

We all bring out our weapons and Brandon chucks his sword at the first crow he sees, throwing it like a spear and slicing through it. The bird burst into golden dust and we began our killing frenzy. I slashed through a few as Perry chopped ones head off. The more we killed, the more that appeared. I was beginning to get tired and I could tell everyone else was, too.

"It's not working, they just keep coming." Katelynn says.

"We've gotta keep going." Jase says.

He was right. We'd come here for Maliah, but there was no way we could leave this island knowing we'd left people still vulnerable to Hecate.

"How many do you think there are?" Ellie asks.

"I don't know, but we haven't even made a dent." Jake notes.

There's a sound of laughter that's so shrill, I recognize it almost instantly. I turn and look behind me, my eyes landing on a woman with hair as black as night and deep amethyst colored eyes. She wears goth styles makeup and a simple dark purple, long sleeved silk dress. Her eyes are on Maliah.

"Who are you." I ask her, raising my sword, but something tells me I know.

"You know who I am, demigod. I'm Melanie. Does goddess of hatred and death ring a bell?" she responds.

"I'll kill you," Maliah promises, charging her with her sword.

The goddess is gone in the blink of an eye, and behind us now stands another one. Her hair was a little lighter than the other goddess, and her eyes were blue. In her hands she held the large crow I'd seen on the ship, now with striking blue eyes mirroring Maliah's. That was our bird.

"She was never going to stay long, little girl. Is this what you came for?" she asks, raising the caged bird.

"Give it to me," Maliah says, raising her sword, "or I will take it from you."

The woman laughs with no trace of humor, "Try it," she says, "I think that'll be fun."

Maliah goes to charge her and the woman begins to chant.

"Move!" Harvey screams, recognition on his face, "It's a fire spell!"

Maliah jumped out of the way just as a fireball the size of a ceiling fan whizzes past her. We all step forward ready to assist her, but she pleading look she gave us told us this was her fight. Her eyes met mine and she was distracted. Hecate began mumbling a spell, but Harvey matched it with one of his own. A vine shot from the ground, wrapping around his mother's neck while another vine shot into the cage, piercing the heart of the crow.

Maliah gasped, her entire body stiffening and then she fell to her knees, breathing heavily. There was sweat on her forehead and she turned to Hecate, but she was no longer there.

"Everyone to the ship," Prometheus ordered, rushing us as he ran, "this place is about to blow!"

I ran over to Maliah, grabbing her hand and pulling her with me as we all raced to the ship in silence. It was hard getting her to keep up in this weakened state, but she did her best. After a few minutes, we were all safely aboard the ship and sailing back on our original course. A few of us, including Maliah, stayed on the deck to watch the island explode into flames, killing every last bird that was left.

She turned to me, relief flooding her eyes, "We did it, they're all free."

Everyone went to their rooms. This time I went to my own room, wanting to give Maliah the space she needed after today. I fall sleep, but only for a little while. I see a glimpse of Tony as he looks up to me. He's mouthing something, but what is it?

A knock on my door wakes me.

"Come in," I call out.

Maliah walks in, her hair soaking into her t-shirt. She steps in the room, shutting the door behind her, "Hi."

"Hey," I say, "You should be resting."

I try not to sound like a disappointed dad, but I know it comes off that way.

"I couldn't sleep. The way the boat moves with the ocean and how my dad is-"

"Seasick again?" I ask her, a small smile playing on my lips.

"Yeah," she says, looking away.

I pat the bed beside me, "Come on."

She walks over to the bed and lays down, making herself comfortable in my arms. She takes a small breath and closes her eyes. For a while I'm left with nothing but silence and my thoughts. It bothered me that I had no idea what Tony was trying to tell me, and where was Percy Jackson? Why I couldn't I see him anymore?

"Tyler?" Maliah asks, dragging me from my thoughts.

"Yeah, Mal?" I ask.

"Are you scared?"

I don't answer her right away. Something tells me that we both know my response already, but still I tell her, "Yes, yes I'm scared."

"What if we don't find Tony?" she asks, quietly, "What if we don't find him, or the Lost Generation and the world ends and it's all our fault? There's a war brewing, Tyler. A war that I'm not even ready to battle in, let alone lead."

I hold her closer to me, "You'll be ready when they need you."

"How are you so sure?"

"You're you." I tell her.

She opens her eyes and looks at me. For a minute I hold her stare. She was just a scared girl with all of this power that she had no idea how to control. A girl that I had sworn to protect. A girl that I had to leave as soon as we got back to camp. I hadn't thought about that since Apollo told me. I hated that part of the quest, now.

"You really think we'll all be okay?" she asks.

"I have to." I tell her, "I don't know what to think if we weren't."


	21. XXI

Athens and the Nemean Lion

The next morning, I woke up to Maliah looking out of the small window in my room. She was resting her head on the wall, a steaming mug in her hand, and a smile on her face. Her hair looked redder as the sun reflected on it, and her eyes were almost translucent from this angle.

I was starting to believe that there wasn't any lighting out there that didn't favor my friend.

She turned to me and stifled a giggle.

"What's so funny," I ask smiling at her.

"Your hair," she responds, the smile still playing on her lips. I reach up instinctively to fix it, but she grabs my hand. "Leave it, I like it."

Something about her comment gets to me and I feel a little embarrassed. I turn away, looking out of the window. I see a few sea spirits, no doubt helping us with safe passage.

"Why are you awake so early?" I ask her, "It's like six in the morning."

"Athens," she says happily, "we're here and for once I feel like we're right where we need to be."

I felt something, off. Maybe it was just my nerves, or maybe it was just the way she was talking to me today.

"I'm glad," I tell her.

"Me, too." she says, "Kate stopped by. She wanted to see how we were doing. She casually let it slip that she's ready to see Tony again."

"Yeah, I can imagine it's all she's been thinking about."

"She wants to thank him," she says, facing me.

"She told you that?" I asked her.

"No. I can just tell. Unlike most daughters of Aphrodite, Katelynn has a guilty conscious. She's never going to let this rest until she's made her peace with him."

She was looking out of the window again.

"Well," I say, "we're going to find him and she'll have her chance."

"I know," she says, turning back to me again.

I stare at her and it all seems so real now. We could die on this quest and that would be the end. I reach out and grab her, pulling her into an embrace.

"Do you remember the promise we made to each other?" I ask her and I feel her nod, "I'm going to hold up to that. You're one of the few people I care about, Maliah, and I promise I won't let anything happen to you. I just needed you to know that, just in case."

"Before you guys came along, I had no one. I thought I was going to be alone in this forever, but all of you changed that. I have so many amazing friends who are there to help me and I can't help but feel so grateful for it. I care about you, too, Tyler."

I hugged her tightly and something washed over me. I cared about her so much. I couldn't let anything happen to her. These feelings that I had, I didn't know what they were but I knew they were there and they weren't going away any time soon.

I, reluctantly, pulled away from the hug and looked at her.

"We should go." I tell her.

She nods and we share one last look before we walk out of the room. We make our way to the deck and everyone is there waiting for us. No one really says anything, I think they're all scared that it'll make it real. We walk off of the boat in silence, touching down in Athens.

The shore line was beautiful, even if the skies were grey and there was an eerie cast out. The waves were crashing against the shore and the trees in the distance were dancing in the wind. There was no one around, only us.

Katelynn and Maliah were walking together, talking in hushed whispers as they both shared glances at the sea.

"It's about time you showed your face," Jase laughs, walking up to me.

I felt like such a jerk abandoning them.

"I'm the worst, I know," I joke, "I'm sorry."

"Nah, it's cool. Spend time with your girlfriend, we'll get you back." Jake grins.

I roll my eyes, "It's not like that."

"Sure."

"Oh, guess what we can do," Jake says, grinning.

"What's that?" I ask.

"Watch," Jake says.

They both get in a running stance and in a matter of seconds, they're twenty feet ahead of us and then back. I stop in my tracks.

"Holy Hades, how'd you do that?" I ask.

"A blessing from our dad," Jake grins.

"That's so cool!"

"Thanks, it's crazy because we found out we could do it on the-"

A loud roar cuts him off. The air around us tensed and everyone drew their weapons. Something was coming. First I looked at the boys, then the rest of our group. Maliah and I shared a look. There was a loud growl and out from the trees came a gigantic lion, it's mouth set in a snarl.

"What's the plan?" I shout.

"Flank him and fire, someone's bound to get lucky." Maliah says.

"Agreed."

Everyone charged the lion from all directions, but nothing was working. Every attack we made just bounced right off of him. He pawed at the twins and swatted Perry into a tree.

"Perry!" Katelynn screamed, rushing over to him.

"We can't keep going like this," Brandon yelled, "nothing's working!"

I looked over to Maliah who was sweaty and tired. Even her sword, that should kill anything, wasn't working. Prometheus had stayed on the ship, as were his instructions from the gods. He would know what to do right now, but he couldn't tell us.

"Tyler watch out!" Maliah screamed. I ducked just in time to avoid being sliced in half by the lion's claws.

I sighed, "We need a new plan!"

"Working on it!" she called.

Suddenly, she put her finger through the gold ring of her choker and snatched the necklace off of her. The broken chain took a crescent form and materialized into a silver bow with a golden ring around where her hand went. The string was also gold.

"Where are the arrows?" Brandon yelled.

"I don't think I need any," she called back, drawing the string.

As she pulled the string back, a golden arrow shimmered into the light. The way it was formed now, it was just small gold particles in the shape of an arrow. As she released it, the arrow flew and materialized into the air, becoming solid and bouncing off of the lion.

I got an idea.

"Maliah, aim for it's mouth!" I screamed.

"Huh?" she asked.

"It's mouth! Aim for the mouth!"

She nodded her head and drew the string back once again, another golden arrow shape forming. She waited for an opportunity and when the lion snarled, she let the arrow go. It hit the lion's mouth and soon, he disintegrated.

"That was amazing!" Brandon screamed.

"Is Perry okay?" Harvey asked.

"Yeah, he just got knocked out." Kate said, a look of concern still on her face.

"I think that's enough excitement for today." Jake said.

"Yeah, I agree. We should set up camp." Brandon suggested.

The twins went and gathered fire wood, the Hecate brothers dug a pit in the sand, Brandon and I pitched tents and Ellie set up the tiki torches she'd apparently stashed on the boat. When the twins returned, they put the wood in the wood in the pit.

"I'll light the torches if you get the fire, Maliah." Ellie offered, shooting small fireballs out of her fingers until all of the torches were lit.

"Oh, sure. I'd stand back, though." Maliah suggested.

We all stepped back and she looked up to the sky, then the pit. A strike of lightning hit the wood, setting it ablaze and sending all of us flying back. After our harsh landing, we all started laughing. My eyes found Maliah's and after a minute we all recomposed ourselves. When we sat up, though, we all erupted in laughter again. It felt good feeling like we were kids without a care in the world. For just one night I allowed myself to think we were just normal kids on a normal camping trip.

Katelynn handed us dismantled metal clothes hangers and passed around a bag of marshmallows. We also had graham crackers and chocolate for those of us who wanted the whole shebang. We roasted the marshmallows over the fire while the twins told us ghost stories.

"So," Jase began, "the girl walked all around the home but it was quiet. She was starting to wonder why she even bothered coming, her friends said the house was haunted but it wasn't even scary. But as she walked into the room, she got chills down her spine. There was no one to turn to, though, because she was all alone."

"She looked all around the room," Jake continued, "and inspected the white sheet covered furniture until her eyes landed on a dark red substance sliding down the walls. With an ounce of confidence, she walked up to the wall to inspect it. Only she fell through a trapdoor. And then-"

He paused and he and Jake shared a look before jumping out at the girls, "A clown killed her!"

They let out weak screams and we all laughed, Kate pushing Jake over.

"I thought it was a ghost story!" she laughed.

"Oh," Jake said, propping himself on his elbows, "the clown was a ghost."

The girls laughed and Katelynn knocked him over again before we all fell back on the sand.

"Lamest story ever." Maliah laughed.

"Agreed." Ellie chimed in.

"You suck!" we chorused together.

"Then you guys tell the story next time!" Jase laughed.

My eyes caught Maliah's and I saw the flames dancing in them. She let out a small laugh and looked back up at the sky, the smile still on her face. I had to get these feelings under control. I couldn't do this to myself, to her, knowing what would happen when this quest ended. Maybe next summer, sure, but right now it wasn't fair.

* * *

Okay so this is where the chapters are going to stick to the main plot of the original version, but still have a lot of changes. I hope you enjoyed it and it's so close to being complete!

XoXo

Gabby


	22. XXII

Everything was Just Starting to Come Together

We'd all fallen asleep outside. I woke up and I was facing Maliah, her face to me. She looked so peaceful again, I didn't want to disturb her. Her eyes opened while I was standing, though, and she smiled at me.

"Hi." she said, sitting up and yawning.

"Hi." I smiled back as I stood up.

I offered my hand to her and she took it, allowing me to help her up. I looked around our makeshift camp and realized that Katelynn was the only one still asleep. I walked over to her and gently shook her shoulders.

"Morning," she said, once she'd woken up and stood.

"Morning, sleepy." I responded, she blushed a little, "When did you go to sleep?"

"Sometime after the fire went out. I just couldn't stop thinking. I'm so excited to see him again." she said, softly.

The twins bump into me, laughing, and almost knock me down. I grin at them and push the closest one, Jake, down. They both laugh as well.

"We should head out now, we still have to find Tony." Harvey reminds us.

And suddenly we weren't normal kids on a normal camping trip anymore. It was back to being demigods and saving someone's life.

"You're right," Maliah said, "Tyler, Katelynn and I will check along the shore and in the water. I just can't shake this feeling I have about it."

"Okay, Ellie, Jacob and I will take the right woods and Jason and the Hecate brothers can take the left," Brandon says.

"Okay, just be careful. I have a bad feeling." I say.

They all nod and for a minute none of us move. We look at each other, taking in what could be our final moments as a whole. Then it's over and we move. I follow Maliah back down to the shore watch as Katelynn eyes the water, worriedly. Maliah pulls me to the side.

"As a son of Poseidon, you can feel when somethings off about the water, right? Like when there's something there that isn't supposed to be?" she asks.

"Yeah," I said but it came off as more of a question.

"Step in and tell me what you feel." she said.

I step into the water and concentrate as the shallow waves wash against my legs. At first, I don't feel anything. Then, a moment later I feel the hum and vibrations of something large. It almost felt like there was electricity, but that wasn't it. I felt something else, something also big but this thing was moving. It was racing right for us.

Suddenly I was pushed back out of the water and landing on Maliah. I look up and I'm face to face with a monster that has six necks and grizzly heads with four eyes. I can't move at first. Katelynn runs to us and helps us up.

"Did you feel anything else?" Maliah asks me, desperation in her eyes.

"Yeah," I say, catching my breath, "a building, I think. There was electricity so-"

"Tony's there, isn't he?" Katelynn asks.

"I think so."

"Stay here, both of you." Maliah says as she walks to the dock, striking the monster down with lighting. It disappears and Maliah jumps into the water. I find myself praying to my dad that she's okay and that she can breathe down there just long enough to get them both up here. I look at Katelynn and realize she was also staring at the same place where Maliah had just been moments ago. We wait in agonizing silence for what feels like forever. A few more moments pass, maybe it was seconds, maybe it was a minute, maybe more. I don't know how long she was gone until there was water splashing on the dock and I heard two audible gasps for air.

Katelynn and I share a look before running to meet them. Maliah was pushing the dark haired boy up on the dock and Katelynn grabbed his arm, pulling him up. I grabbed Maliah's hand and pulled her up onto the dock as well. For a second everything was great.

The monster resurfaced and Katelynn screamed. It was holding a large piece of wood and was aimed at Tony. I jumped in front of him, but as the monster released, Katelynn pushed me out of the way and hugged Tony for dear life. I didn't understand it at first until I realized he was straining, trying to push her away out of danger. He was still trying to save her life, but she believed it was her turn to save his.

She screamed as the wood pierced through her back.

"Why did you do that, Katelynn?" he screamed, her head falling onto his shoulder.

"I couldn't let you or Tyler die. Both of your lives are so important, Tony. I owed you. Thank you so much for saving me that day in fifth grade. All I've wanted since then was to repay you and today, I got to do that." she whispered.

Tony hugged her lightly and I could hear Maliah sobbing behind me.

"You stupid girl, you aren't dying today." he told her.

Maliah's sobs stopped, and she screamed, "Oh, gods, oh no. Tony! Tony, get her off of the dock! Now! I know what's going to happen next, get her off of the dock!"

"Maliah?" I began but I was stopped when she used a wind current to shove all of us away, holding me back with one, "What are you doing?"

"I know how this ends, Tyler. I've seen it. One of us is going to die here and I refuse to let it be you!" she was crying again.

I hated it when she cried.

I could hear everyone else following the commotion and joining us. I knew the Hecate brothers would save Katelynn so I wasn't worried about her life anymore. I could only worry about Maliah. I didn't take my eyes off of her and her sad eyes. She was at the end of the dock and I wanted to run to her and grab her but I was stuck, she wouldn't let me move. In an instant, the monster resurfaced, crashing through the dock in between us and for a moment, time stood still as I screamed her name. I held her gaze for what seemed like eternity to me. Those sad, blue eyes with their grief and tears, they were the only things I could focus on. She seemed to be mouthing something, saying something to me but I couldn't hear the world around me anymore. Then she was gone, sinking under the surface.

I could move again and I ran to the water, enraged. I refused to let anyone die today. I screamed and the water shot into the sky, bringing Maliah out from below the surface with it. The last time I did something this big, I almost killed everyone I tried to protect. I couldn't let it happen this time. I had to keep her alive. I dropped to my knees, willing the water to me. I grabbed her, collapsing onto my back as the water fell away, back into the sea.

"Maliah," I called, shaking her, "Mal?"

She wasn't waking up. I shook her but nothing was happening. Before I could do anything else, the monster resurfaced and I moved Maliah, shielding her from the monster with my body as he attacked. Nothing happened, but I heard the screams.

I looked up and turned, finding Brandon slumped over on what was left of the dock. There was golden dust falling around us as he bled from the deep gash on his chest. He didn't look up at us, he just held his position for a moment and then fell forward, without a single movement. I cried. We had too many injured here and they weren't going to make it. The Hecate brothers could only do so much and they were already struggling with Katelynn. I turned to Maliah and started doing CPR and I prayed to my dad. After a minute, she spit up water and stared at me. Before she could do anything, she turned her head and saw Brandon.

I'll never get her scream out my head. I tried to hold her back, maybe I was trying to comfort her, but she wouldn't let me. She fought against me, the entire time she never stopped screaming for her brother. Finally, my body gave in. I was too weak and she was too... broken to be stopped. For once, there was something so awful that even I couldn't fix it for her.

She dragged his body into her arms, sobbing. I looked around for Ellie, finding her collapsing into Perry's arms as her body shook with violent sobs.

This was the life of a demigod. This was the only thing I had to look forward to, and when we went to war I was going to witness even more of my friends dying. I was so infuriated that my blood was boiling.

"Don't worry," a voice calls to us.

I look up and see the sun god himself, awfully cheerful considering the scene before him.

"I'm here to help." he says.

He walked over to Brandon and hummed his song while the wounds on him slowly healed, "he should rest."

"Thank you," Maliah said, tears still in her eyes.

The god smiled at her and walked over to Katelynn.

"Rest, dear brothers. I'll take it from here," he took her hand and smiled at her, Tony still holding her other one, "You know, Katelynn Michaels, I have met many demigods. I've met many children of Aphrodite, and you my dear girl have to be the bravest one of all. I want you to hold still for me, okay? You'll be okay."

He talked to her so gently. I feel like no matter who you were, you just had a soft spot for the sweet, brave blonde girl. He began humming, his magic working and Maliah walked over to them, sitting next to Tony.

"You're the one who saved me, Maliah, right?" he asked.

"Yeah." she said.

"Thank you." he said, looking down.

"It was no problem."

It's quiet until the god is finished with Katelynn.

"Kate! Oh gods, I'm so glad you're okay! Never do that again. We're all important, we're all the prophecy!" Maliah told her, pulling her into a hug.

Katelynn hugged her back, tightly.

"I think I know who it is, or maybe I don't know, but that's the point." Katelynn says.

"What are you talking about?" I ask.

"Whoever did this to Tony, to us. I hate them. I hate them so much." she says.

"A hatred for an unknown nation," I say.

"Yeah. But we're going to find them. We're going to save the Lost. We're going to save everyone and we're going to do it by always sticking together, isn't that right?" Katelynn asks.

"That's right." Maliah agrees.

I can't look at them in the eyes and make that promise.

When we got back to the ship, we got Brandon set up in his room with Ellie watching over him. The sun god told us he should be better by tomorrow and that we just had to let him rest. That was hard for most of us to do. I managed to convince Maliah to go back to her room and get some rest of her own. Tony and Katelynn followed us and I remembered the promise I made to her.

"Tony?" I say, catching his attention.

"Yeah?" he asks.

"Do you hate Katelynn?" I ask.

He looks completely taken back by the question, "No, I don't."

"Then why didn't you talk to me when I came back to school?" she asks him, softly.

"You left me all alone, Kate. I had no other friends. I was alone." he told her.

"I came back for you." she said.

A comfortable silence falls on all of us for a minute.

"I think we're all going to be okay." Maliah laughs.

We soon fall into a nice conversation, all of us just talking and laughing with each other. I look over at Maliah and I realize I can't stop looking at her. She smiles at something Katelynn said, and lightly pushes Tony, making him smile as well. She radiated this wholesome beauty and I was going to have to walk away from it when we returned to camp.

After a while, everyone had fallen asleep. Tony and Katelynn were on the floor and Maliah was cuddled up to me. I listened to her breathing and I found myself crying again. I thought that this was going to be easy, but nothing prepared me for how wrong I was.

The rest of the trip went by in a blur. We didn't rush the trip, knowing we didn't necessarily need to anymore. We coasted for about two weeks and all of us took the time to relax while we could. Tony rested up, Brandon healed. We all trained more, laughed more. I'll be the first to admit that I think we got too comfortable. We were happy. I know we needed to relish in the rare happy moments we had, but it was so hard not to take it for granted.

When we reached Florida, Tony told us he was rested enough to shadow travel us the rest of the way to camp.

"Ooh, the dance is tonight," he grinned.

"You hate dances. You almost cried last year when they made you go." Katelynn pointed out.

"The Hermes boys are spiking the punch, though." he said, happily.

"A dance?" I ask.

"Oh, we have three throughout the summer. The summer solstice dance, a Fourth of July dance, and an end of camp dance. The solstice dance is the one tonight." Brandon said.

He was looking and feeling a lot better now. Maliah had been so upset with him but he reminded her that he knew what was going to happen to him because of the prophecy, and that he was happy with his decision. He even went as far as telling her he would do it again.

She didn't like that.

"Okay, everyone hold hands." Tony said, cupping Maliah's and intertwining his hand with Katelynn.

I intertwined my hand with Maliah and grabbed Jake's free hand with my other one. A second passed and suddenly I had that familiar feeling of being lost in darkness and time. I heard nothing and if not for the people I was touching, I would feel utterly alone. After what seemed like an eternity, we were back at camp.

We stepped out of the Big House and were greeted by Chiron.

"Ah!" he announced, happily, "I knew you could do it, heroes! The dance starts soon and Aphrodite came and left you lot a few gifts. Go, hurry, there's still so much to do."

I knew his last line was directed at me but I said nothing. I turned to Maliah.

"Do you want to go to the-"

She stops me, "I'd love to."

We shared a smile and I find myself, again, wondering how I'm going to leave her.


	23. XXIII

Running Away Should Have Been Easy

I got ready in my cabin alone. Next year, my sister would be here with me, but for now it was still so lonely. I adjusted the dress shirt the Aphrodite had left for me when I heard a knock on the door. I walk over and open it, finding Maliah. She stood there with her hair curled and styled half up and she wore a simple floor length lavender dress with a plunging neckline and a slight slit on her legs that was covered sometimes, then revealed again. She had a natural makeup look, save for mauve colored lips.

She looked beautiful.

"You look-"

"Beautiful." I finished for her.

She smiled at me, and looked around my cabin. She took in how empty it was and leaned against me.

"It won't be this lonely for long. I'm so happy for you, that you have a sister out there," she said, absently.

"I know, so am I. It's insane to think about it, though. I still don't completely believe it's real."

We fell into a comfortable conversation, just talking to each other for a while. She once again brought up her plans for the term and her fears of not being able to balance everything. I tried my best to reassure her, but I know I didn't ease her mind. After a while, we decided to walk to the arena where the dance was held. We fell into another comfortable conversation.

"Tony asked Kate." she tells me, a smile on her lips.

"Really?" I ask, though I'm not really shocked.

"Yeah, I think he likes her. But of course she thinks different. She thinks he's doing it because he feels obligated since she took a stake to the back for him."

It was still a sore subject, but we were coping with everything that happened to us on the trip. We walked hand in hand in silence for the rest of the way, enjoying each others company. When we got there, she stopped me before I opened the door.

"I know I can't come with you to find your sister because I have my own thing, but I know the others are going to be the best and they won't stop until all of you find her."

A lump formed in my throat. I couldn't tell her I was leaving alone. Or that I was leaving tonight. I just smiled at her and nodded before she opened the door and pulled me inside. When we entered the building, the lights were low and the music was loud. All of the campers seemed to be here. I scanned the area, my eyes landing on the twins who were laughing and joking with their little sister, Lacey. I soon saw Brandon and Ellie dancing together, as well. Maliah tugged on my arm, willing me to come with her as we made our way through the bodies.

We soon found Kate and Tony, standing in the corner.

"Let's dance!" Maliah said.

"Do I have to?" Tony sighed.

"You've had enough punch, let's go!" Kate giggled over the music.

The girls pulled us out onto the floor and we all began laughing and dancing with each other to the fast paced song. After a minute, the song ended and a slower one played. I wrapped my arms around Maliah and we began dancing.

"I know that we went through a lot on that quest," she began, "but this was the best summer of my life."

"Mine, too." I agree.

Out of the corner of my eyes, I see Tony and Kate dancing as well, not talking. They were just content enjoying each others company. I look back at Maliah and the smile on her face hurts me. She has no idea what's coming next and I can't even tell her. I was awful.

"I'm glad I met you, Tyler Wright," she whispers.

I don't have the time to respond when she leans in an places her lips on mine. We both stop moving while everyone else dances around us. To describe the way that my mind and body felt when she placed her lips on mine was impossible. I knew I liked her. I thought that maybe she might have liked me back, but knowing this and feeling her lips on mine were two different things. I didn't imagine it would get this far, not now. I also couldn't help but be grateful it was happening. I felt the sparks that people talk about, the butterflies. Standing there in that room when her, I felt like we were the only two people there.I kiss her back, lightly wrapping my arms around her. I don't know how long the kiss lasted, but I was disappointed when it had to end.

Gods, this was going to hurt.

When she pulled away, she smiled at me and I smiled back. I didn't miss the sun god in the back of the crowd nodding his head at the door. It was time. The music changed to a faster song and Katelynn came over to us.

"Mind if I steal her away?" she laughs.

"Go for it, Kate." I smile.

I give Maliah one last longing look as she disappears into the crowd. I make my way out of the arena and begin marching toward the stables that house the Pegasi.

"Tyler?"

Her voice stops me dead in my tracks. Why was she out here and not at the dance? I can't face her.

"You're leaving?" she asks, her voice breaking. I turn around and she has tears falling down her cheeks, "You're not leaving without telling me goodbye, are you?"

"Mal, I-"

"Tell me that's not what you're doing." she sobs.

"I have to. I'm sorry," I tell her while I turn away and continue walking. I couldn't keep looking at her, it'd only make it harder.

"Don't walk away from me," she says. "Tyler!"

"I'll make it up to you, I promise." I tell her.

I hear her sobbing and drop against the ground. The doors to the arena open and close and I know that Kate and Tony have found her by now. She was in the best hands possible and that was the only thing that made me feel the slightest bit better. I made it to the stables and I find River.

"_You're upset,_" he says.

"Leave it alone."

"_It's not the nice, pretty girl, is it?_"

"Let's just go."

He doesn't say anything to me after that. I mount him and fly out of the stables. I flew over the spot where I'd just made the biggest mistake of my life and I see Maliah still there, being held by Katelynn. One of the twins was now with them, crouched in front of her, and I saw Tony. He was staring up at me and for someone with the worst attitude, I had a feeling he was the only one who wouldn't hate me after tonight.

River had a bag strung around his neck, a gift from Apollo to point me in the right direction. I couldn't wait to find my sister, but I also couldn't wait to come back and make all of this right again. There was so much still left to do and so little time. I knew Sophia needed my undivided attention, but I just couldn't get Maliah's face to go away.

I finally had everything that I didn't even know I needed. I was happy. I had a new life, a hard one but one worth living, and I ran away from it.

* * *

Well, that's it. The story is now officially complete (again). I can't even describe how good it feels to mark this version complete knowing it's improved so much from the last one.

The next step is to rewrite and continue the Children of Poseidon (which might get a name change, not completely sure) but I can't wait.

Let me know how much you all enjoyed it (if you did) and I hope to get the next story out and then finally continue on with the story. Until next time,

XoXo

Gabby


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